Director Kirill Sokolov Lands at Johnny Foreigner

Kirill is a half Russian – half Ukrainian director and writer.

He started to make short films in 2009. The hobby turned into a passion and as a result, he directed two feature films Why Don’t You Just Die (2019) and No Looking Back (2021). After festival and critical success, Kirill garnered his reputation as Russia’s young Tarantino. When the war broke out in February 2022, Kirill made public statements criticising the government (see this NY Times article) after which he had to flee his homeland. Since then Kirill has been based in LA where he was welcomed by agents and industry friends.

Kirill has been signed up to direct the thriller 'ULTRA' on TriStar which is now in development. The three commercials you see on his showreel are self-funded spec films which he made in an effort to enter the advertising industry. He subsequently signed to Minted in LA. Johnny Foreigner has exclusive representation over Kirill in the UK.

Of joining the Johnny Foreigner roster, Kirill says “I have always been interested in commercials and music videos. The short form offers new challenges and creative opportunities that are often not realised in movies. I am very excited to finally enter this world with such an experienced team as Johnny Foreigner."

Olivia Hirschberg added "I am very excited that Kirill was recommended to me by a mutual friend based in LA. It’s not often that a talent like Kirill comes along and for me it was a no brainer to take him on. London’s creatives need to be fed reels of the likes of Kirill, not only to widen their network of directors but also to inspire them to keep writing exciting scripts whilst knowing that directing talent like Kirill are accessible and available within their budgets. Kirill has an interesting history too, and all this makes him a very versatile, positive, upbeat and dedicated professional. He’ll go a long way."

Check out Kirill's reel here.