Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov is a renowned Kazakh-Russian film director, widely recognized for his captivating vampire franchise, Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006).
Born on June 25, 1961, in Guryev, Soviet Union (now Atyrau, Kazakhstan),Bekmambetov was raised along the Ural river in Kazakhstan, Soviet Union, by his father, Nuruakhit Bekmambetov, a manager at Guryev Energy company, and his mother, Mira Bogoslavskaya, a journalist.
At the age of 17, in 1978, Bekmambetov moved to Moscow, where he attended the Moscow Energy Institute from 1978 to 1980, but his true passion lay in art and movies. He eventually dropped out of college and joined the cultural circle surrounding artists such as Anatoli Zverev and Oskar Rabin.
From 1982 to 1987, Bekmambetov studied painting at Tashkent Theatrical Art Institute, graduating in 1987 as an artist of theatre and film. He then served in the Red Army from 1987 to 1988, stationed at an artillery division near Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan.
After his military service, Bekmambetov worked as a set designer at "Ilkhom" Drama Theatre in Tashkent and at Uzbek Film Studio. Since 1989, he has been directing commercials.
Bekmambetov made his directorial and writing debut with Peshawar Waltz (1994),a film about the Soviet war in Afghanistan, which received awards at several European film festivals. From 1992 to 1997, he created 18 commercials for the Russian bank "Imperial" and was named the best young director of 1997 by the Russian Film Academy.
In 1999, Bekmambetov founded his own film company, Bazelevs Production. His breakthrough came with the success of the vampire franchise Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006),which he directed from 2003 to 2005. Both films became international blockbusters, receiving several awards and nominations.
The third installment, Twilight Watch (2009),is slated for release in 2009. Since 2005, Bekmambetov has been working in Hollywood, writing, directing, and producing several films, including Wanted (2008),9 (2009),and The Red Star.
Back in Russia, Bekmambetov directed The Irony of Fate 2 (2007),a romantic comedy based on Soviet-era characters, capitalizing on nostalgia among post-Soviet audiences.
Throughout his career, Timur Bekmambetov has established himself as a master of dense narrative, surprising viewers with eerie details, hectic pace, and unusual twists and turns, making his films a challenge even for experienced audiences.
