Ignatiy Igorevich Vishnevetsky is a Russian-born United States-based film critic and essayist.
Background
Vishnevetsky was born in Moscow, United States.S.R., the son of Russian poet Igor Vishnevetsky, and moved to the United States at the age of 8, following his parents" divorce. He lived with his father, stepmother, and stepbrother in Decatur, Georgia, and, four years later, relocated to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, where he graduated from Wauwatosa East High School and then moved to Chicago, where he briefly attended Columbia College Chicago, studying Film Directing.
Career
He works as a critic for the film website Mubi.com, is an occasional contributor to the Chicago Reader, and has been a contributing film critic for The Authorised Version Club since May 2013. Vishnevetsky co-hosted Roger Ebert Presents: At the Movies, a nationally syndicated film criticism television show, with Christy Lemire. Although he did not formally study English in school while living in Russia, Vishnevetsky claims that he learned the language "entirely from television and American television commercials I watched constantly".
Before working as a film critic, Vishnevetsky worked as a translator, movie theater usher and laundromat attendant.
Beginning in 2004, he became involved with Chicago"s cinephile community, many of whose members he met through the video rental store "Odd Obsession". He was involved in a screening space called North Western Avenue, whose participants later co-founded the film website Cine-File.info, to which Vishnevetsky continues to contribute.
In 2006, Vishnevetsky wrote and directed a 45-minute short film. He also served as the film"s editor and cinematographer.
Soon after a final cut was completed, a hard drive failure destroyed much of the footage.
In an interview with the podcast Film in Focus, Vishnevetsky stated that the experience lead him to pursue film criticism full-time. Vishnevetsky published a film zine called Zero for Conduct before joining the New York University-based film journal Tisch Film Review and then MUBI. After several months of auditions, Vishnevetsky was announced as the show"s co-host alongside Christy Lemire. Vishnevetsky replaced critic Elvis Mitchell, who had appeared in the show"s pilot but left the production for undisclosed reasons.
In March 2013, Vishnevetsky announced that he will be writing and directing his own film, starring Allison Torem, Stephen Cone, and Mallory Nees.
Personal life
They have two children together. Vishnevetsky remains a Russian citizen.