Personal details
Born:
- Birthday: 1989-06-09
- Born Place: Leningrad, USSR (Saint Petersburg, Russia)
Also Known As:
Кирилл Соколов, Kirill Sokolov, Kirill Sergeevich Sokolov , Кирилл Сергеевич Соколов
Kirill Sokolov
Born in 1989 in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Kirill Sokolov is a Russian filmmaker celebrated for his distinct "ultra-violent" and highly stylized approach to dark comedy. Before pursuing cinema, Sokolov took an unconventional path by studying at the Physics and Technology Faculty of the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, graduating as a physicist in 2012. He subsequently shifted to filmmaking, enrolling in the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors in 2013 and producing four short films that established his signature "Interior Western" sub-genre. Sokolov gained international acclaim with his 2018 feature debut, Why Don't You Just Die! (Papa, sdokhni), a blood-soaked revenge thriller set almost entirely within a single apartment. The film won the main prize at the Window to Europe festival and became a cult hit globally for its kinetic camera work and cartoonish splatterpunk aesthetic. He followed this in 2021 with No Looking Back (Otorvi i vybros), a high-energy "chase" comedy involving three generations of women, which earned him the Best Director award at the Fantaspoa International Film Festival. Known for his "LEGO kit" approach to set design and meticulous storyboarding, Sokolov’s work often features vibrant color-coding and practical special effects. In 2026, he makes his English-language debut with the high-rise horror film They Will Kill You.
