Biography
Evgeny Vladimirovich Shelyakin (born September 18, 1976, in Krasnodar) is a Russian filmmaker, screenwriter, TV writer, director, producer, and actor. Raised in Krasnodar, he attended a theater studio as a child, independently created performances, and formed his own show group during school. Shelyakin initially trained as an electrical engineer. In 1998, he graduated from the Krasnodar Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia with a law degree and worked as a police investigator for four years. During this period, he developed an interest in KVN. From 1995 to 1998, he captained the KVN team "The Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs," competing in the Krasnodar city league and representing the city’s national team. Later, he led the Kuban Cossacks team, which reached the semifinals of the KVN Higher League in 1999.
In 2008, Shelyakin graduated from VGIK, specializing in feature film directing under Valery Akhadov's mentorship, where he now teaches. His television career includes roles as a screenwriter and director for entertainment shows, as well as scripting TV series such as Afromoskvich and Happy Together. While working in the script department at Channel One, he contributed to "New Year's Lights," which evolved into the "Olivier Show." As a writer and director, he was involved in popular projects like "Projectorperishilton," "Yesterday Live," and the animated parody series "Cartoon Personality." On these productions, Shelyakin not only worked in the studio but also directed on-location shoots of clips, sketches, and trailer parodies.
In 2008, he directed the short film "Freud's Dolls," and his feature film directorial debut was "B/W." His work has been highly praised by renowned Russian film critic Yevgeny Bazhenov, who named Shelyakin one of his favorite directors and appeared in his film "Friday" in a cameo role.
