Who directed the 2023 film Tetris?

Jon S. Baird directed the 2023 film Tetris.

Baird’s movie is a biographical thriller about the international licensing battle surrounding Alexey Pajitnov’s puzzle game. Rather than dramatizing falling blocks, it follows Henk Rogers as he navigates competing claims from Soviet officials, Western businessmen, and console companies during the late Cold War.

The film was written by Noah Pink and produced in part by Matthew Vaughn, but neither is the director. Martin Walsh served as one of the editors, which can make his name appear prominently in production credits. Baird’s direction gives the story a fast-paced espionage-thriller style, mixing business negotiations with political tension.

Production was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, so locations in Scotland stood in for parts of Moscow and other settings. The film premiered at the 2023 South by Southwest Film Festival and was released on Apple TV+ later that month. Its historical framework is based on real licensing disputes, though several scenes and characters were heightened or rearranged.