Kazakhstan. Laura and Daur live in an isolated village high in the mountains. Today, Laura will be travelling to the city to give birth.
Alexey was born and raised in Shatura, Russia. He graduated in documentary filmmaking from the VGIK in Moscow, and holds a Master's degree in cinema from the University of Pilsen in the Czech Republic.
His graduation short film, THE GOLDEN BUTTONS, premiered at Visions du Réel in 2020, won the IDFA Talent Award and was selected by the Krakow Film Festival for the European Academy Awards. Alexey has since directed an animated short, FATHER'S LETTERS, selected and awarded at over 80 French and international festivals, as well as a live-action fiction short, HABIBI, shot in Kazakhstan in 2025.
Alexey has taken part in international pitch forums and workshops such as CEE Animation Forum, Euro Connection, IDFA Talent Campus, Visions du Reel Lab, Fajr International Talent Campus, and wa awarded the Lagardère Auteur d'animation grant for a new animated short film project, A SMALL MAN.
He is currently writing his first live-action feature film, MEAT (winner of the Groupe Ouest 2025 annual selection), and is also working on the animated feature FATHER'S LETTERS (winner of the Annecy Festival 2025 Résidence).
Alexey now lives and works in France.
