Pavel Sanaev is a renowned Russian writer, screenwriter, and film director, whose literary and cinematic works have garnered widespread acclaim and recognition. His novel "Bury Me Behind the Baseboard" became a bestseller in Russia, remaining at the top of the list for over a decade, and was later included in the list of "25 Books that Inspired the World, 1989-2014" by World Literature Today. His novel "Chronicles of a Slacker" was also a bestseller in 2013.
Pavel Sanaev's film career began at the age of 12, when he played a role in the film "Scarecrow (Chuchelo)", which was a significant Soviet cinematic event of the 1980s. He went on to act in several other films, including the German war drama "Erster Verlust", where he played the male lead of the Soviet POW Alexei.
In 2004, Sanaev directed a short film, "The Kaunas Blues", for Lithuanian TV's Channel One, based on his own screenplay and featuring leading Lithuanian actors. The film was well-received by audiences and played in prime time in Lithuania.
Pavel Sanaev's debut as a full-length feature film director came in 2005 with the film "The Last Weekend", which 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 earned Sanaev the Best Director award at the international Baltic Debuts Film Festival in Svetlogorsk.
In 2006, Sanaev made a film based on his screenplay "Milepost Zero". Between 2007 and 2009, he worked on the film "Hooked", an 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.
Pavel Sanaev is currently working on the high-concept sci-fi screenplay "Illusionator" under the pen name Paul Ross, which he started in 2022.
