Born in the Altai Krai,
Russian SFSR to Ivan Afanasyevich and Valentina Vasilievna Khotinenko. His father was Ukrainian, his mother came from
Don Cossacks. In 1976, he received his diploma from the
Ural State Academy of Architecture and Arts, in what is now
Yekaterinburg. After his military service, he was from 1978 to 1982, assistant designer at Studio-Film in Sverdlovsk, and was assistant director for the film by
Nikita Mikhalkov,
A Few Days from the Life of I. I. Oblomov. He collaborated on other films by Mikhalkov in
Moscow, such as
Five Nights (Пять вечеров) 1979, and
Family Relations (Родня) 1981. He then became director of the
Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow. His 1999 film
Strastnoy Boulevard was entered into the
21st Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Special Mention. He excelled in historical films and large scenes, particularly describing the history of Russia. He won the
Golden Eagle in 2004 for
72 Metres. In March 2014 he signed a letter in support of
Vladimir Putin's policies regarding the
2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and
Ukraine. ==Filmography==