Nikita Mikhalkov was born Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky on the 21st of October 1945 at the close of the “Great Patriotic War” against Nazi Germany. His father Sergei Vladimirovich is a revered poet and author who wrote the lyrics of the USSR’s national anthem, revised it in 1977, and re-wrote it for the new Russian Federation in 2000. Mikhalkov traces his family lineage back through centuries of Russian intelligentsia including Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Gogol , the painter Vasily Surikov, and Catherine the Great. Though initially placed in the Moscow Conservatory to study piano, Mikhalkov switched to theater and studied acting and directing at The Stanislavsky Theater and the highly influential Shchukin Theater School. Mikhalkov lent his commanding physical stature and matinee idol looks to a dozen films of the Soviet 60’s from Georgi Daneliya’s tender comic take on socialist realism 1964’s “Walking the Streets of Moscow”, to Mikhail Kalatazov’s 1969 historical epic “The Red Tent” before enrolling in VGIK, the Soviet state film school. At VGIK, Mikhalkov studied with paradigmatic 60’s Soviet filmmaker Mikhail Romm and directed a trio of well-received short films before graduating in 1971. After completing mandatory military service in the Soviet Pacific fleet Mikhalkov returned home to Moscow to direct, co-write, and star in his 1974 feature debut, “At Home among Strangers, Strangers At Home”. Now considered a classic “Borscht Western,” Strangers was hailed when released for its innovative mix of black and white and color footage, a “creative decision” actually necessitated by the miniscule allotment of color stock that Mosfilm Studios were willing to contribute to Mikhalkov’s first feature film. Over the course of a dozen more features Mikhalkov successfully navigated the pitfalls of state sponsored filmmaking at home in Russia, international co-production like 1987’s “Dark Eyes” with Marcello Mastroiani, and the mounting of elaborate and expensive period dramas like 1999’s “The Barber Of Siberia”. His 1994 Stalin era drama “Burnt By The Sun” received the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, one of only three Russian films to win the award since the AMPAS created the category in 1956 at the height of the cold war. Working under the Soviet system and in post communist Russia under his own TriTe (“Three T” representing the Russian words for work, comradeship and productivity) production banner, Mikhalkov has amassed dozens of awards at film festivals and competitions all over the world and has been the winner of Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Venice and Tokyo Film Festivals. Mikhalkov has balanced three decades of filmmaking with a prolific acting career that has included a starring role in his brother director Andrei Konchalovsky’s 1979 film “Siberiade”. Mikhalkov has also been extremely active in public service as a cultural advisor to the Soviet government, the Russian
Federation, and UNESCO. He has worked to reform and revitalize the Russian Film Union and as head of the Moscow Film Festival returned the annual Russian film gala to the front ranks of international festivals. A staunch supporter of Vladimir Putin, Mikhalkov ran for and was elected to the Russian Duma in 1995, but relinquished his seat in the Russian parliament when his work schedule made it impossible to serve to the fullest of his abilities.
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