Dmitry Lesnevsky

Dmitry was born in Moscow on February 2, 1970. In 1991 graduated from Moscow State University with a master's degree in journalism. While at university he co-founded with his mother one of the first and largest privately held independent television production companies in Russia - Ren TV, where he became the general producer. In 1997, Dmitry transformed the company into REN TV Channel - a fully broadcast independent national television channel, where Dmitry became co-owner, general director, and general producer. The television channel produced a full range of programs, including news, documentaries and television series. In 2000, Dmitry opened a department for the production of Ren's own full-length films and TV shows - Ren Film. The first film was entrusted to then-unknown director debutant, Andrey Zvyagintsev. In 2003, the debut film "Vozvrashchenie" won 2 Golden Lions at the Venice Film Festival, nomination a Golden Globe and 63 other awards. In 2007, their next film won the prestigious Palme d'Or. In 2001, Dmitry was named Best Producer of the Year by the Russian Union of Journalists, and two years later he won the Peter the Great National Award (Russia's highest award in the field of management) for "outstanding contribution to the development of contemporary Russian film production." In 2004 he won a National TEFI Television Award in the Best Entertainment Program category for producing the New Year's show ["Negoluboy ogonyok"]. In 2005, Dmitry sold his share in Ren TV - RTL groups and left Russia. In 2008, Dmitry launched Mini Movie International Channel to produce, acquire, and distribute short films online. In the same year, he expanded further into TV and feature film distribution by acquiring 4th German TV network Das Vierte, which shows Hollywood classics and blockbusters. In 2012, Dmitry sold it to the Disney. Dmitry currently lives in London.