{{Short description|Russian film director, screenwriter and film producer}} {{Infobox person | name = Roman Volobuev | image = Roman Volobuev (cropped).jpg | birth_name = Roman Olegovich Volobuev | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1977|07|31}} | birth_place = Moscow, Soviet Union | occupation = Film director, screenwriter, producer | years_active = 2014–present }}
'''Roman Olegovich Volobuev''' ({{langx|ru|link=no|Роман Олегович Волобуев}}; born July 31, 1977) is a Russian film and television director, writer, producer, and former film critic. Volobuev is best known for his 8-year tenure as film reviewer at ''Afisha'' magazine and for writing and directing TV series ''The Last Minister'' and ''Just Imagine Things We Know''.
== Early life and media career == Born and raised in Moscow, Volobuev briefly worked as an investigative reporter at ''Obshaya Gazeta''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Кинокритик Роман Волобуев устроился в GQ|url=https://www.vedomosti.ru/management/articles/2012/02/22/kinokritik_roman_volobuev_ustroilsya_v_gq|access-date=2021-11-14|website=Ведомости|language=ru}}</ref> before starting to write film reviews for the Russian edition of ''Première'' magazine'', Izvestia'', ''Vedomosti'' and ''Iskusstvo Kino'' and in 2004 became a film section editor at ''Afisha''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=DOKer {{!}} Roman Volobuev|url=https://www.midff.com/roman-volobuev|access-date=2021-11-14|website=doker-eng|language=en}}</ref> He also served as founding editor-in-chief of the short-lived Russian edition of ''Empire'' film magazine in 2007<ref>{{Cite web|title=Роман Волобуев {{!}} Time Out|url=https://www.timeout.ru/msk/person/41337|access-date=2021-11-14|language=ru-RU}}</ref> and as deputy editor of GQ Russia in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Роман Волобуев стал заместителем главного редактора GQ|url=https://lenta.ru/news/2012/02/22/volobuevgq/|access-date=2021-11-14|website=lenta.ru}}</ref>
== Film an TV career == In 2013, Volobuev and his co-writer Lena Vanina developed a political comedy series ''Zavtra'' (''Tomorrow'') about Russian liberal opposition winning presidential election<ref>{{Cite news |last=Idov |first=Michael |date=2016-01-07 |title=My Accidental Career as a Russian Screenwriter |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/magazine/my-accidental-career-as-a-russian-screenwriter.html |access-date=2022-03-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> for an independent cable news station ''TV Rain''. Only pilot episode was produced, since ''TV Rain'' ran into political and financial troubles<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-12-08 |title=Russian liberal TV channel forced to quit premises |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30374615 |access-date=2022-03-02}}</ref> and could no longer finance the show.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-03-06 |title=Satirists seek crowdfunding to kickstart political comedy in Putin's Russia |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/06/satirists-seek-crowdfunding-to-kickstart-political-comedy-in-putins-russia |access-date=2022-03-02 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> Volobuev's debut feature film ''The Cold Front'' (2016) a chamber mystery drama shot in Normandy was met with mostly lukewarm reviews<ref>{{Cite web|title=KinoKultura|url=http://www.kinokultura.com/2017/58r-kholodnyfront.shtml|access-date=2021-11-14|website=www.kinokultura.com}}</ref> and failed at the Russian box-office. His second film a satirical action comedy ''Blokbaster'' (2017) fared much better with critics<ref>{{Cite web|title="Блокбастер": Непрокатная версия|url=https://seance.ru/articles/blockbuster-12-minutes/|access-date=2021-11-14|website=Журнал «Сеанс»}}</ref> and received the Special Jury Prize at Kinotavr film festival,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kinotavr 2017: Prizes and Winners :: Russia-InfoCentre|url=http://russia-ic.com/news/show/23540#.YZENZ71Bw-Q|access-date=2021-11-14|website=russia-ic.com}}</ref> but was disowned by Volobuev after a public spat with producers over the final cut.<ref>{{Cite web|title=KinoKultura|url=http://www.kinokultura.com/2018/62r-blokbaster.shtml|access-date=2021-11-14|website=www.kinokultura.com}}</ref> He eventually found a mainstream success with the black political comedy TV series ''The Last Minister'' and a 4-part mini-series about Moscow media industry ''Just Imagine Things We Know'' both released in 2020. Volobuev also co-wrote a post-apocalyptic drama series ''Survivors'' (2021) and appeared as an actor in Valeriya Gai Germanika's ''Brief Guide To A Happy Life'' (2011), Boris Khlebnikov's ''Hot and Bothered'' (2015) and Konstantin Bogomolov's ''A Good Man'' (2020).
In 2022 Volobuev condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 February 2022 |title="Shame for the Insane Tyrant": How Liberal Russians Are Reacting to Putin's War With Ukraine |url=https://slate.com/technology/2022/02/liberals-russia-ukraine-war-social-media-protests.html |access-date=2022-03-22 |website=Slate}}</ref> and emigrated from Russia, effectively ending his local film career.
In 2023 he directed ''Riot Days''<ref>{{Citation |last=Volobuev |first=Roman |title=Riot Days |date=2023-09-14 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29133881/ |type=Musical |access-date=2023-11-26 |others=Mariya Alyokhina, Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot |publisher=Artbox, Vnezapie Filmworks}}</ref> an hour-long concert film featuring a live performance by the feminist art collective Pussy Riot.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-14 |title=«Нам говорят: "Нахуя ты на Геббельса работал?" А мы: "Вы не понима-а-аете, там все сложнее!"» |url=https://holod.media/2023/09/14/volobuev-interview/ |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=«Холод» |language=ru-RU}}</ref>
== Political views == Volobuev is highly critical of Russian authorities, once calling modern Russia "an authoritarian state with good Wi-Fi and a nice urban planning".<ref>{{Cite web |title="Последний министр": Роман Волобуев — о том, как сделать политический сериал в стране без политики |url=https://www.the-village.ru/weekend/interview/378685-volobuev |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=The Village |language=ru}}</ref> He was a vocal supporter of 2011–2013 Russian protests and has been detained during street protests in Moscow in 2012.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Idov |first=Michael |title=Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |year=2018 |isbn=978-0374223151 |location=New York |pages=152 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=В центре Москвы задержаны Собчак и Навальный |url=https://www.delfi.lt/ru/abroad/russia/v-centre-moskvy-zaderzhany-sobchak-i-navalnyj.d?id=58676677 |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=DELFI}}</ref>
In 2018, after the arrest of the fellow director Kirill Serebrennikov he publicly urged Russian filmmakers to stop applying for funding from Russia's Ministry of Culture.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Снизу постучал Мединский. Соцсети о продлении срока Серебренникову |url=https://www.svoboda.org/a/29176731.html |access-date=2022-03-25 |website=Радио Свобода |date=19 April 2018 |language=ru|last1=Пономарёва |first1=Аля }}</ref>
In 2022, in a manifesto<ref>{{Cite web |title="Сегодня ценность написанного, спетого, снятого на русском определяется тем, заведено ли на автора уголовное дело" Режиссер Роман Волобуев — о войне. И о том, почему культура оказалась бессильна |url=https://meduza.io/feature/2022/09/08/segodnya-tsennost-napisannogo-spetogo-snyatogo-na-russkom-opredelyaetsya-tem-zavedeno-li-na-avtora-ugolovnoe-delo |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=Meduza |language=ru}}</ref> explaining his decision to stop working in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine he compared moral choices Russian filmmakers currently face to the ones German filmmakers faced under Hitler.
== Filmography == Source: Kinopoisk<ref>{{Cite web|title=Роман Волобуев, 1977 — Сценарист|url=https://www.kinopoisk.ru/name/2803038/|access-date=2021-11-14|website=Кинопоиск}}</ref>
=== Feature films === {| class="wikitable" ! rowspan="2" style="width:33px;" |Year ! rowspan="2" |Film ! colspan="3" |Credited as ! |- ! width="65" |Director ! width="65" |Writer ! width="65" |Editor ! width="65" |Producer |- |2016 |''The Cold Front'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |- | rowspan="2" |2017 |''Blokbaster'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |- |''Middleground'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |- |rowspan="2" |2023 |''The White List'' | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |- |''Riot Days'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |}
=== Television === {| class="wikitable" ! rowspan="2" style="width:33px;" |Year ! rowspan="2" |Title ! colspan="3" |Credited as ! rowspan="2" |Notes |- ! width="65" |Director ! width="65" |Writer ! width="65" |Editor |- |2014 |''Zavtra'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |Pilot |- |2020–2022 |''The Last Minister'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |31 episodes |- |2020 |''Just Imagine Things We Know'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |4 episodes |- | rowspan="2" |2021 |''Survivors'' | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |3 episodes |- |''Okayannie Dni'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} |1 episode |- |2022 |''Aurora'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |8 episodes |}
== Bibliography == * ''500 фильмов изменивших мир (500 films that changed the word)''. 2006, ''Afisha Industries''. 432 pages. {{ISBN|5-91151-001-4}}.
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name|7344457}} *[https://mubi.com/cast/roman-volobuev Roman Volobuev] at Mubi *[https://www.kinopoisk.ru/name/2803038/ Roman Volobuev] at KinoPoisk
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volobuev, Roman}} Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:Russian film critics Category:Russian film directors Category:Russian film editors Category:Russian screenwriters