My life has always been connected with cinema. However, I came to directing, to authorship in non-fiction cinema, only recently. It has been a very long journey—a journey to understand what my cinema actually is. What am I searching for in this art form? What is my place in it?

I have a classical film education—I graduated from Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. Gerasimov (VGIK) with a degree in film and TV management. For many years, I engaged in the production of content (TV series, films) for my studio, of which I was the founder and co-owner. My company was quite successful. Our TV series and films were competitive, brought stable profits, and were appreciated by the audience. But that was no longer enough for me. Something was tormenting and pressuring me, not giving me peace. And finally, I hit a wall—the existential question of the meaning of my life.

I halted my producing activities and closed the company. And then I was lucky. Fate led me to Higher Courses of Scriptwriters and Filmdirectors named after G.Daneliya (VKSR), to a workshop on non-fiction cinema, to a community of documentary enthusiasts. I discovered the films of Artavaz Peleshyan, Verner Herzog, and Chris Marker. I passionately began to study all the basics of the directing profession in order to create my own films. The workshop became my second family, and VKSR became my second home.

After shooting my first film, I finally felt that, after wandering in the dark for a long time, I had stepped onto my path and found my voice.