Alexey Estigneev

Alexey Evstigneev was born in Shatura, Russia, but now lives and works in France. He graduated from the VGIK, Moscow, and obtained a Master’s degree in Cinema at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic. The Golden Buttons, a short documentary he directed in 2020, was shortlisted for the European Academy Awards. His animated short Father’s Letters, made in 2022, has traveled and won awards at French and international festivals, and A Small man won him the Lagardère Auteur d’animation grant in 2024. Alexey has just directed his first live-action short film, Habibi, with the support of the CNC, the Pays de la Loire region and France Télévisions. His first feature film is Meat, written in collaboration with Inga Sukhorukova.

Meat

Sélection Annuelle 2025

Meat is a dystopia, built around the smooth running of a human meat factory on which the economy and well-being of the entire seaside town of N. In a town where everyone is forced to eat human meat, the son of Vera, a factory worker, is injured in a car accident. To save him, Vera and her husband must find a volunteer who is willing to sacrifice himself by transforming himself into a meat product, thus becoming a hero, in exchange for the patriotic purse intended to pay for medical care. Vera is confronted with the drawbacks of the system, and her convictions begin to crumble.