Alexander Rodnyansky

Alexander Yefymovych Rodnyansky (Олекса́ндр Юхи́мович Родня́нський; born July 2, 1961) is a Ukrainian film director, film producer, television executive and businessman.

As a media-manager Rodnyansky founded the first Ukrainian independent television network 1+1 and ran Russian CTC Media, which under his management became the first Russian media company to publicly trade on NASDAQ.

During his career, Rodnyansky has produced over 30 films and more than 20 television series.

In 1983 Rodnyansky started his career at Kyivnaukfilm studio.

At that time he was making documentaries on ecology and politics.

He directed 10 feature short motion pictures which won him over 40 prestigious awards both at home and abroad.

For the documentary Raoul Wallenberg's Mission he was awarded the highest award for a documentary filmmaker in the USSR – the Russian National Film Award NIKA as well as the European Film Award (for Best Documentary).

In 1990 Rodnyansky was invited to 'Innova Film', founded by Germany ZFD channel.

From 1990 till 1994, he worked as a producer and film director at the German television channel ZDF.

When Leonid Kuchma became the President, Rodnyansky returned to Ukraine.

With a start-up capital of $400,000, Rodnyansky and his cousin Boris Fuchsmann co-founded the 1+1 Channel.

They were given 2.5 hours of daily screen time on the state channel UA:First.

The channel was in a poor state then, it was unprofitable and had only 7% of the audience.

Under new management, in two years 1+1 became the leader of the television market in Ukraine.

Rodnyansky served as CEO and was a co-owner of the company together with Central European Media Enterprises (CME).

His 1991 film Last farewell USSR was awarded the Gran Prix of Cinema Jove Film Festival in Valencia, Russian National Film Award NIKA, Special Jury prize at the Festival International de Cinema Nyon and the Best Documentary prize at the Duisburg Film Festival.

Among other films produced by Rodnyansky: A Chef in Love (1997), East/West (1999), A Driver for Vera (2004), The 9th Company (2005), The Sun (2005), Heat (2006), Piter FM (2006) and The Inhabited Island (2009).

He created Ukrainian TV network 1+1 and for seven years was the CEO of a Russian media company CTC Media.

Variety500 index names Alexander Rodnyansky as one of the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global media industry.

Rodnyansky was born in Kyiv to Jewish parents Efim Naumovich Fridman and Larisa Zinovyevna Rodnyanskaya.

Both parents worked at the Ukrainian film studio 'Kontakt'.

His father Yefim Fridman was a senior engineer, while his mother Larisa Rodnyanskaya worked as a film producer and later was assigned director of the 'Kontakt'.

Alexander's maternal grandfather Zinovy Rodnyansky was chief editor of the Ukrainian documentary film studios, his cousin Esfir Shub was a prominent Soviet director.

Alexander's cousin Boris Fuchsmann is a German media mogul and investor, he is also the vice-president of the World Jewish Congress and the President of Jewish Confederation of Ukraine.

Together the cousins co-founded the 1+1 TV Channel and built the Hilton hotel in Kyiv.

Irina Rodnyanskaya, Alexanders aunt-cousin, was a prominent Russian critic and literary historian, laureate of the Pushkin Prize and the Solzhenitsyn Prize.

His cousin once removed Lazar Rodnyansky was a Soviet engineer, laureate of the Lenin Prize for creation of the Myasishchev M-4 bomber.

Due to the busy schedule of his parents, Alexander was raised by his grandfather and given his surname.

Rodnyansky graduated from Kyiv's National University of Film, Theatre and Television as a documentary director.

He studied under Felix Sobolev.

On January 1, 1997, 1+1 started broadcasting on the UT-2 Ukrainian State Channel.

In 1997, Rodnyansky sold his 30% of shares in 1+1 to CME for $22 mln.

Some of his most notable projects including Elena (2011), Leviathan (2014) and Loveless (2017) directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, The Duelist (2016) directed by Aleksey Mizgirev, The Man Who Surprised Everyone (2018) directed by Aleksey Chupov and Natasha Merkulova, Beanpole (2019) directed by Kantemir Balagov, Mama, I'm Home (2021) directed by Vladimir Bitokov and Unclenching the Fists (2021) directed by Kira Kovalenko.

Films produced by Rodnyansky many times won top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival.

Among the awards won by his films – Golden Globe Award for Leviathan, Grand Prix of Un Certain Regard program for

Unclenching the Fists and César Award for Loveless.

Rodnyansky won GQ Man of the Year (producer) three times.

He is a member of the European Film Academy and Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Rodnyansky is a Member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, four of his films were nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category: A Chef in Love, East/West, Leviathan and Loveless.

Among other films that Alexander Rodnyansky produced are Stalingrad (2013 film) (2013), the highest grossing Russian film at the time.