Anatoly Balchev

Anatoly Balchev (Ukrainian Анатолий Маркович Бальчев, born 28 July 1946) is a Russian composer, actor, screenwriter and director.

Life and work Balchev initially worked as a composer, creating pieces for the cinema and theater, as well as songs for Russian pop stars and releasing albums with his own songs. In the self-written piece The Poets' Café he debuted in 1990 as a director.

In the 1990s he was co-producer of the Russian-American project Cops in Russia, the Russian version of the television show COPS by Fox Television. In 1998 he founded the Apollo Film Studio. His intensive study of film-making practiced in Hollywood enabled him to direct the Russian-American movie Passenger from San Francisco. He has written several screenplays waiting to be filmed.

In 2026, Russian director and screenwriter Anatoly Balchev presented the documentary-biographical film Vysotsky. Unknown Pages (18+) in Kazan. The film forms part of his ongoing exploration of the life and legacy of Soviet singer, poet, and actor Vladimir Vysotsky.

Filmography (selection) Высоцкий. Неизвестные страницы (Vysotsky, Unknown Pages), 2017 Пассажир из Сан-Франциско (Passenger from San Francisco), 2014 Vladimir Vysotsky's 80th Birthday

Songs (selection) Пасхальная (Easter) Хризантемы (chrysanthemums) У зим бывают имена (winter have names) Ялта (Yalta)