Nikita Mikhalkov

Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov (Russian: Никита Сергеевич Михалков; born 21 October 1945) is a Russian filmmaker and actor. He made his directorial debut with the Red Western film At Home Among Strangers (1974) after appearing in a series of films, including the romantic comedy Walking the Streets of Moscow (1964), the war drama The Red and the White (1967), the romantic drama A Nest of Gentry (1969) and the adventure drama The Red Tent (1969). His subsequent films include the romantic comedy-drama A Slave of Love (1976), the drama An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano (1977), the romantic drama Five Evenings (1978), the drama Without Witness (1983) and the romantic comedy-drama Dark Eyes (1987). Mikhalkov then directed, co-wrote and appeared in the adventure drama film Close to Eden (1991), for which he received the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination.

Following the Soviet Union's dissolution, Mikhalkov directed, co-wrote and starred in the historical drama Burnt by the Sun (1994), for which he won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He received the "Special Lion" at the Venice Film Festival for his contribution to the cinematography and an Academy Award nomination for the legal drama 12 (2007).

Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1993, 1995, 1999) and Full Cavalier of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland". In honor of his 80th birthday, in 2025, he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, Russia's highest state award.