Directing

Zhenia Kazankina

Born May 6, 1996 · Moscow (age 30)

Zhenia Kazankina (she/her) is a director, screenwriter, and editor, born in Moscow, Russia, in 1996. She graduated from the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) and is currently based in Rome, Italy. Her work explores themes of adaptation, attachment, and the search for belonging, often through the lens of feminine characters and perspectives. Unfolding in a collective dimension, her stor…

Known For

Rio

Polina lives and works in a small hotel in the northern border town. She and her friend Nadia dream of a different, paradise and exotic world. The girls almost never leave the empty immobilized hotel and live, performing their strange daily rituals in the hope that someday they will lead them to a miracle. Once a stranger arrives at the hotel.

New

Outskirts of Moscow. A girl comes to an unfamiliar apartment to look after a dog. After a while, she realizes that the owner of the apartment has disappeared. She finds herself into a series of people that have been taking care of the dog for years in that same apartment, creating a weird community around this strange absence of the owner.

City of Owls

City of Owls · 2026

On the last evening before her departure, Vera is putting her small sister to bed. To hide the real reason for her leaving, she tells her a bedtime fairy tale instead. It's the story of a city swallowed by an eternal night.

Three Secret Clues of Longing

Three Secret Clues of Longing · 2023

Three Secret Clues of Longing

MovieDocumentary

Simple demands of love, which are usually hidden behind closed doors of fear and vulnerability, are playfully celebrated here as a riddle of shapes and gestures found among tons of archival material.

Empty Rooms

Empty Rooms · 2023

MovieDocumentary

Following a mass emigration from Russia, a poignant love letter emerges in the abandoned home spaces of friends and family.

Continuity of Parks

Continuity of Parks · 2022

Continuity of Parks

Deprived of their familiar context, the heroes of ancient Greek myths find themselves in a Moscow park.

Filmography

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Rio

Polina lives and works in a small hotel in the northern border town. She and her friend Nadia dream of a different, paradise and exotic world. The girls almost never leave the empty immobilized hotel and live, performing their strange daily rituals in the hope that someday they will lead them to a miracle. Once a stranger arrives at the hotel.

Editor

New

Outskirts of Moscow. A girl comes to an unfamiliar apartment to look after a dog. After a while, she realizes that the owner of the apartment has disappeared. She finds herself into a series of people that have been taking care of the dog for years in that same apartment, creating a weird community around this strange absence of the owner.

Director

City of Owls

City of Owls · 2026

On the last evening before her departure, Vera is putting her small sister to bed. To hide the real reason for her leaving, she tells her a bedtime fairy tale instead. It's the story of a city swallowed by an eternal night.

Director

Three Secret Clues of Longing

Three Secret Clues of Longing · 2023

Three Secret Clues of Longing

MovieDocumentary

Simple demands of love, which are usually hidden behind closed doors of fear and vulnerability, are playfully celebrated here as a riddle of shapes and gestures found among tons of archival material.

Director

Empty Rooms

Empty Rooms · 2023

MovieDocumentary

Following a mass emigration from Russia, a poignant love letter emerges in the abandoned home spaces of friends and family.

Director

Continuity of Parks

Continuity of Parks · 2022

Continuity of Parks

Deprived of their familiar context, the heroes of ancient Greek myths find themselves in a Moscow park.

Director