‘Minotaur’ film to have special TAFFF screening and director Q&A
The American French Film Festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary together with its awards competition through a special screening of Minotaur. Organized in partnership with the Franco-American Cultural Fund, the evening centers on the film followed by a question-and-answer session. This presentation forms part of the broader festival program taking place at the Directors Guild of America Theater Complex in Hollywood. The milestone event highlights the festival's continued role in presenting French cinema to Los Angeles audiences.
Minotaur was named an Official Selection at Cannes 2026. The film also won the Grand Prix at Cannes 2026. It stands as France's official entry for the Oscars 2027. These distinctions reflect the project's strong international reception ahead of the TAFFF screening.
Director Andrey Zvyagintsev almost did not live to make Minotaur. In 2021, COVID put him in a coma and left him unable to move for a year. He learned to walk again, and, from exile in France, made a film about what the war in Ukraine does to Russians at home. At Cannes, he told Vladimir Putin from the stage to stop the killing. On Saturday he sits down with us at the DGA, in one of his first Los Angeles conversations about the film. Come hear his first hand account of why he kept working. This personal journey underscores the determination behind the project which examines the effects of the ongoing conflict on individuals within Russia reflecting the director's own circumstances of exile and recovery following the severe health crisis induced by the pandemic.
The Q&A will include director Andrey Zvyagintsev, TAFFF Deputy Director Anouchka Van Riel, and TAFFF Executive Producer and Artistic Director Francois Truffart. Their participation will cover both the film and the festival's 30th edition.
The event occurs on Saturday, November 7. A red carpet begins at 6:30 p.m. and the Minotaur screening starts at 7:00 p.m. The venue is the Directors Guild of America Theater Complex at 7920 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046. Set in Russia in 2022, the film follows Gleb, a successful company director whose ordered life unravels under corporate pressures and global instability, moving toward violence. The story draws from themes of exile and conflict that shaped its production. The American French Film Festival in conjunction with the Franco-American Cultural Fund celebrates its 30th anniversary celebration and awards competition with this special screening of Minotaur followed by a Q&A with director Andrey Zvyagintsev.
