Zoya Laktionova (n. 1984) s-a născut în Mariupol. Zoya a apărut pentru prima dată în lumea cinematografiei documentare ca personaj în filmul Ma (10’) în 2017, iar un an mai târziu a realizat primul său scurtmetraj documentar, Diorama, despre marea minată din zona Mariupol. Filmul a câștigat un premiu în categoria MyStreetFilms la festivalul „86” (Ucraina) în 2018, a participat la numeroase festivaluri de film europene (DOKLeipzig, Ji.Hlava, Cottbus etc.) și a fost lansat în cinematografele din Ucraina în 2019.
În 2021, Zoya a prezentat în premieră noul său scurtmetraj Territory of Empty Windows (10’) la DocudaysUA International Human Rights DFF, iar acesta a fost difuzat în cinematografe la Molodist IFF din Kiev. Filmul a primit un premiu special la festivalul Ji.Hlava, la Obirok 2021, și premiul principal la competiția de documentar a festivalului franco-ucrainean MIST 2021. Premiera internațională a avut loc la MakeDox IFF, Macedonia de Nord.
Înainte de începerea războiului la scară largă al Rusiei împotriva Ucrainei (2022), Zoya locuia în Kiev și lucra ca artistă independentă și realizatoare de filme documentare. Lucrează cu teme legate de război, memorie și povești personale.
My trip to the residency in Bucharest was driven by the idea of getting to know the local culture and history. After all, it was my first visit to Romania in general and to Bucharest as well. However, when I got to Bucharest, I realized that it reminds me very much of Ukraine and Ukrainian cities. For example, Mariupol, where I was born. It was very much in tune with my project that I started in Vienna this winter. This project, called Unheritage. I am trying to recreate the archives that were lost to me when Russia destroyed and captured my hometown. This is not just a repetition, but a kind of reenactment. Thus, I decided to buy black and white film, they helped me find an old Zenit camera, the same one that I had in my childhood and with which my father took pictures of me. The photos that were taken in Constanta will eventually become part of this project. Moreover, during our stay at the gallery of Anca Poterasu, we decided not only to do an artist talk and show my previous video works, but also to make an exhibition. Currently, this exhibition, which we called “Memory Practices’ , which will last for a month, shows my films, videos and photos that were made before and also photos that were already made in Romania. In addition, Anсa arranged a meeting for me with director Alecu Solomon, who works with local archive centers. This meeting helped me form the idea of a new film, part of which I would like to shoot in Romania and use Romanian archives. I also met the documentary filmmaker Vlad Petra, who works in a similar style to mine. At one of the exhibitions, I met Dana Bunescu, an editing director and documentary filmmaker, whose work with Radu Jude really impressed me.
It was a very rich and useful residency that has already influenced my artistic life.
