Biography

Pavel Sanaev is a prominent Russian writer, screenwriter and film director. His novel Bury Me Behind the Baseboard became Russia's most enduring bestseller, remaining close to the top of the list for over ten years. His novel Chronicles of a Slacker was a 2013 bestseller. In 2014, Bury me Behind the Baseboard topped the list of "25 Books that Inspired the World, 1989-2014" by the magazine World Literature Today. Based on his own screenplays, Pavel Sanaev made four movies that were box office successes, received top awards at Russian and international film festivals, and were purchased for distribution in other countries.

Pavel Sanaev began in the movie industry at the age of 12 when he played a role in the film Scarecrow (Chuchelo), which became one of the most significant Soviet cinematic events of the 1980s. Subsequently, he acted on three more occasions in several films including German war drama Erster Verlust where he took a male lead of the Soviet POW Alexei.

In 2004, Sanaev shot a short film, The Kaunas Blues, for Lithuanian TV's Channel One. It was based on his own screenplay and featured leading Lithuanian actors. The film was played in prime time in Lithuania and was received warmly by the audiences.

2005 was the year of Pavel Sanaev's debut as director of full-length feature films. His film The Last Weekend was officially recognized as the first youth thriller ever made in Russia and took a notable place in Russian cinematic history. The film did well at the box office, achieved excellent DVD sales and brought Pavel the Best director award at the international Baltic Debuts Film Festival in Svetlogorsk.

In 2006, Sanaev made a film based on his Milepost Zero (Nulevoy Kilometer) screenplay. Between 2007 and 2009 he worked on the film internationally known under the title Hooked - the ambitious adventure thriller about gamers who apply their gaming skills to real life. The film, which cost $7 million to make, was entered into several festival competitions in the US and won the Best Film of the year award at the Action On Film Festival 2010 in Pasadena, California. The rights to the film were sold for distribution in more than 30 countries, and in 2011 Hooked was recognized as the top Russian box-office hit abroad.

In 2022 Pavel Sanaev has started working on the high concept sci-fi screenplay Illusionator under the pen name Paul Ross that he took the same year.

- IMDb mini biography by: Maxim Michaelli