Alina Kotova
Director/ Performer/Composer
Multidisciplinary Artist
Director/ Performer/Composer
Multidisciplinary Artist
Alina Kotova is a Paris-based director and multidisciplinary artist of Russian origin, working at the intersection of theatre, music, and moving image.
In 2016, she graduated from the Theatre Academy (GITIS) in Moscow, specializing in Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism.
She worked as a theatre critic, correspondent, and assistant director at the Stanislavski Electrotheatre, organized festivals, and published articles in the contemporary art journal CINE FANTOM, where she also curated several special editions and screenings for emerging experimental filmmakers.
In 2018, her short film EIGHT IMAGES FROM THE LIFE OF NASTYA SOKOLOVA premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival and won the Silver Eye Award from the Institute of Documentary Film (Czech Republic), with the jury noting: "A powerful reflection of current socio-economic issues stemming from failed societies, this film sits at the intersection of contemporary art and cinema, presenting us with eight contrasting images to tell the story of a generation."
That same year, she participated in the collective project ORPHIC GAMES. PUNK MACRAMÉ, where she worked as director, performer, and singer. The project premiered at the Stanislavski Electrotheatre and was nominated for the Golden Mask in the experimental category (Russia’s main theatre award).
This production was the culmination of her studies at Boris Yukhananov’s theatre directing studio, from which she graduated in 2019.
Later in 2019, her first solo theatre production, SALOMÉ, premiered at the Stanislavski Electrotheatre in Moscow as part of the “Non-Adaptive Experimental Theatre” program.
Between 2020 and 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she conducted research for her multidisciplinary project YASON, which explores the border between night dreams and official history.
In 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, she left the country and lived and worked across several countries before establishing herself in Paris.
Since 2020, she has focused on experimental opera. In 2024, she premiered two digital operas: DECADENCE RAVE OPERA SALOME, based on the Salome myth and Oscar Wilde’s play, where she served as director, composer, and performer. The work was created during the COVID pandemic and later during her nomadic path, provoked by self-imposed exile in the context of the war, and became a poetic documentation of the contemporary apocalypse.
She also premiered TRIP OPERA THE ROUT, based on a libretto by Daniil Zinchenko and incorporating comments from Wikimapia, where she worked as composer and performer.
Currently, Alina is working on the documentary spoken opera TRANSPOSITION, which will premiere at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival in 2025. For this project, she serves as librettist and artistic collaborator.
SELECTED FESTIVALS:
- GoEast Film FESTIVAL / Germany, 2017
- 47th International Rotterdam Film Festival / Netherlands, 2018
- 15th IndieLisboa International Film Festival / Portugal, 2018
- BOGOTÁ SHORT FILM FESTIVAL/Colombia, 2019
- 15th VIENNA SHORTS/Austria/2018
- Ji. Hlava International Documentary Film Festival/2018
- Territory Theatre Festival/Russia/2018
- Golden Mask Theatre Festival/Russia/2019
- METAKANSK Festival/NY/2024
- Rubezh Festival/Tbilisi/2024
SIGNIFICANT PRIZES:
- Institute of Documentary Film/ Winner - Silver Eye Award / Czech Republic, 2018
- International Film Festival “Spirit of Fire”/Russia/2018
In 2016, she graduated from the Theatre Academy (GITIS) in Moscow, specializing in Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism.
She worked as a theatre critic, correspondent, and assistant director at the Stanislavski Electrotheatre, organized festivals, and published articles in the contemporary art journal CINE FANTOM, where she also curated several special editions and screenings for emerging experimental filmmakers.
In 2018, her short film EIGHT IMAGES FROM THE LIFE OF NASTYA SOKOLOVA premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival and won the Silver Eye Award from the Institute of Documentary Film (Czech Republic), with the jury noting: "A powerful reflection of current socio-economic issues stemming from failed societies, this film sits at the intersection of contemporary art and cinema, presenting us with eight contrasting images to tell the story of a generation."
That same year, she participated in the collective project ORPHIC GAMES. PUNK MACRAMÉ, where she worked as director, performer, and singer. The project premiered at the Stanislavski Electrotheatre and was nominated for the Golden Mask in the experimental category (Russia’s main theatre award).
This production was the culmination of her studies at Boris Yukhananov’s theatre directing studio, from which she graduated in 2019.
Later in 2019, her first solo theatre production, SALOMÉ, premiered at the Stanislavski Electrotheatre in Moscow as part of the “Non-Adaptive Experimental Theatre” program.
Between 2020 and 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she conducted research for her multidisciplinary project YASON, which explores the border between night dreams and official history.
In 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, she left the country and lived and worked across several countries before establishing herself in Paris.
Since 2020, she has focused on experimental opera. In 2024, she premiered two digital operas: DECADENCE RAVE OPERA SALOME, based on the Salome myth and Oscar Wilde’s play, where she served as director, composer, and performer. The work was created during the COVID pandemic and later during her nomadic path, provoked by self-imposed exile in the context of the war, and became a poetic documentation of the contemporary apocalypse.
She also premiered TRIP OPERA THE ROUT, based on a libretto by Daniil Zinchenko and incorporating comments from Wikimapia, where she worked as composer and performer.
Currently, Alina is working on the documentary spoken opera TRANSPOSITION, which will premiere at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival in 2025. For this project, she serves as librettist and artistic collaborator.
SELECTED FESTIVALS:
- GoEast Film FESTIVAL / Germany, 2017
- 47th International Rotterdam Film Festival / Netherlands, 2018
- 15th IndieLisboa International Film Festival / Portugal, 2018
- BOGOTÁ SHORT FILM FESTIVAL/Colombia, 2019
- 15th VIENNA SHORTS/Austria/2018
- Ji. Hlava International Documentary Film Festival/2018
- Territory Theatre Festival/Russia/2018
- Golden Mask Theatre Festival/Russia/2019
- METAKANSK Festival/NY/2024
- Rubezh Festival/Tbilisi/2024
SIGNIFICANT PRIZES:
- Institute of Documentary Film/ Winner - Silver Eye Award / Czech Republic, 2018
- International Film Festival “Spirit of Fire”/Russia/2018
PROJECTS
2018 - 2021 ORPHIC GAMES. PUNK - MACRAME
2019 SALOME. STRUCTURAL IMPROVISATION
2020 - 2022 YASON
2024 DECADENCE RAVE OPERA SALOME
2024 TRIP OPERA THE ROUT
2019 SALOME. STRUCTURAL IMPROVISATION
2020 - 2022 YASON
2024 DECADENCE RAVE OPERA SALOME
2024 TRIP OPERA THE ROUT
Theatre & Multidisciplinary projects:
Films & Video:
2017 ANTISEXUS/PART OF "NONSENSE" PROJECT
2017 RUSSIA AS A PHANTASMA/COLLECTIVE DOCUMENTARY CINEMA, ONE OF THE AUTHORS.
2018 EIGHT IMAGES FROM THE LIFE OF NASTYA SOKOLOVA/EXPERIMENTAL DOC
2017 RUSSIA AS A PHANTASMA/COLLECTIVE DOCUMENTARY CINEMA, ONE OF THE AUTHORS.
2018 EIGHT IMAGES FROM THE LIFE OF NASTYA SOKOLOVA/EXPERIMENTAL DOC