(2025, France, 150')
How a leader is born. The protagonist of the film is the fictional character Vadim Baranov, an artist and producer entrusted with organizing the election campaign of the then-unknown Vladimir Putin, a young and ambitious face of post-Soviet Russia, now a historical figure. Based on the 2022 novel of the same name by Giuliano da Empoli, the film sees Assayas collaborating with Emmanuel Carrère on the screenplay, with Carrère also making a brief cameo.
Olivier Assayas made his directorial debut in 1986 in Venice with Désordre, awarded at the Critics’ Week. His Après mai (2012), in competition, won Best Screenplay in Venice, telling a story set in a Paris shaken by the 1968 uprisings. He has also appeared at Cannes with the TV miniseries Carlos and Personal Shopper (2016), starring Kristen Stewart, which earned him Best Director at Cannes.
Daily 2025
Focus on the French director, in Venice with "The Wizard of the Kremlin"
