Alexander Anatolyevich Shiryaev is a Russian film producer, director, screenwriter, author of books, actor, entrepreneur, and public figure, widely known under the pseudonym
Alexander N. The founder and general producer of the
film company N Films (since 2008) and the
international agency and film school YouHollywood (since 2017)
agency’s achievements on the official site IMDb, founder and general producer of the
American Theater in Moscow.
THE EARLY YEARSAlexander Shiryaev was born in a family of a professor, teacher
Shiryaev Anatoly Grigorievich and an engineer Shiryaeva Natalia Sergeevna in Leningrad, Russia. He also has an older sister, Maria Shiryaeva.
He graduated from lyceum No.229 with a profound study of physics, mathematics, and computer science, St. Petersburg.
In school, Alexander takes a creative pseudonym "Alexander N" under which he begun publishing manuscripts, articles, and books. Alexander’s first article about the basics of electronic music was published in the magazine "Young in St. Petersburg" (the regional subdivision of "Argumenty i Fakty").
Alexander received his bachelor’s degree in computer systems and networks from St. Petersburg Emperor Alexander I St. Petersburg State Transport University and later continued his studies at the State University of Aerospace Instrumentation.
After graduation, Alexander opened a creative agency
CrystalMachineArtAgaincy, providing professional photography, graphic, and web design services. The agency’s clients include
Turkish Airlines,
Yakitoria federal restaurant chain, and other significant businesses.
CAREER AS A FILM PRODUCER AND DIRECTORIn 2005 Alexander completed work on his first feature film,
Wind of White Walls (2005, N Films), which he writes himself. On October 15, 2005, the film premiered at the
Druzhba cinema theater in St. Petersburg.
In 2009, he directed the movie
The Game Has Begun, thanks to which he received the full grant for studying at the New York Film Academy from Brett Ratner — the producer-director of the films:
The Revenant (2015, starring
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Tom Hardy),
Rush Hour (1998, starring
Jackie Chan,
Chris Tucker),
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006, starring
Hugh Jackman,
Halle Berry), etc.
MOVING TO THE UNITED STATES, STUDYING AND WORKING IN LOS ANGELESFrom 2010 to 2013, Alexander studied, practiced, and worked in Los Angeles, USA: at the
New York Film Academy and classes at the
University of California.
As a part of the directing and screenwriting program, Alexander directed
Bright Dark Black (2011, Los Angeles, USA). The film premiered on February 18, 2011, at Universal Studios theater. The film was sent to the
Cannes Film Festival on behalf of the New York Film Academy. On March 30, 2011, the film was accepted into the Court Métrage 2011 program at the
Cannes Film Festival.
Later that year, Alexander directed a short comedy
Maple Syrup (2011, Los Angeles, USA). On September 17, 2011, the film premiered at
Universal Studios cinema theater in Los Angeles.
Alexander was involved in several other projects as a producer, director, screenwriter, cameraman, and actor, including
The Memory Remains (2013, Los Angeles), starring
Oleg Taktarov.
See You Soon (2019, Los Angeles) and others.
MOSCOWAfter his return from Los Angeles, Alexander moved to Moscow, where he continued his work as a producer. Among other projects, he worked on a video for the new
Rolls-Royce car:
Rolls-Royce: Younger (2021, Moscow).
Currently, an international Russian-German-American feature film is being prepared for production under the working title
The SPY, to be directed by
Thomas Jahn, the director and screenwriter of the motion picture
Knockin' on Heaven’s Door (1997, Germany) and several other projects.
BUSINESSAlexander is an active businessman. The first company specializing in protecting computer networks and systems from hacking, Alexander and his friend and partner started back in school. The documents for the company were registered in the partner’s parent’s name.
Later, he has launched about a dozen companies: from retail and wholesale online and offline trading to the consulting business, etc.
On October 4, 2007, Alexander opened a dancing studio
ShkoLa-Magnit in St. Petersburg. After 1,5 years of work, the studio has become one of the biggest dance schools in the country, with three branches, with a total area of about 10 763 square feet.
Zagorodniy branch occupied two floors in a three-storey building in the center of St. Petersburg. A unique feature of this branch was a hotel for the visiting students, located right on the school grounds.
Alexander is the founder and CEO of the screenwriting bureau
S(C)REENPLAYERS. Since 2018, the bureau has been developing and producing scripts for feature and documentary projects with a running time from 1 minute to full-length films and TV series. The company’s portfolio includes the development of scenarios for
Eldzhey and
Morgenstern —
Lollipop music video; a branded series for
Mazda; the script for the
Déjà vu by Zvonky music video, the script for a full-length film
Three and others.
INVESTMENT ACTIVITIESAlexander acts as a public investor, investing capital in the stock market, creative and technological projects, including film and TV series projects.
On April 3, 2021, Alexander received the official status of
Qualified Investor by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
TEACHING ACTIVITIESAlexander teaches theater and film-related disciplines since 2011: in the U.S., in Russia, for groups, and individually. He also speaks publicly at forums and events with educational and motivational programs.