Filmmaker Kantemir Balagov, a winner of the 2024 CHANEL Next Prize

The 2024 CHANEL Next Prize winner Kantemir Balagov is an artist and filmmaker from Nalchik, Russia. After studying under the famed Russian director Alexander Sokurov, Balagov directed his debut feature film Closeness, which he released in 2017. The film retells the true story of a young couple who were kidnapped on the eve of their wedding. Closeness won Balagov the Fipresci Prize at the Cannes film festival in 2017 and the Grand Jury at the Premiers Plans Film Festival in Angers, both in France, in 2018. Balagov made Beanpole, his second feature, in 2019. It won the Best Direction Award at the 2019 edition of the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section and was Russia’s submission for The Academy Awards in Los Angeles, US. Discover the winners of the 2024 edition of the CHANEL Next Prize at https://www.chanel.com/ww/chanel-next-prize/2024/ #CHANELNextPrize #CHANELCultureFund #CHANEL