What is the best thing that I love about my work? As a filmmaker and photographer, I love the fact that I never get bored. Every project is different, I learn and experiment new things, I get to collaborate with various talented people. It’s challenging, thrilling and stimulating.

What is my idea of happiness?Be able to inspire and make people feel through my art. Be able to live from my art and keep working with other friend artists on exciting projects, constantly trying new things and exploring the limits of filmmaking/photography and art in general. Also, be constantly able to learn and grow as an artist, make mistakes, try, learn and get inspired by others.

What is my greatest fear? Not be able to live from my art and have to find a 9-5 job, having to give up on my artistic career.

What is the trait that I most deplore in myself? My lack of networking skills. Sometimes I feel like I missed on many projects and opportunities to either showcase my work or collaborate with other artists because I waa too shy to talk to others about my projects and get to know theirs.

Which living persons in my profession do i most admire? Ava Duvernay and Denis Villeneuve for their dedication to filmmaking, their hard-work and the way they constantly experiment with every new film or show they make.

What is my greatest extravagance? Buying a film photo camera recently when I should have saved this money. I don’t regret it though!

On what occasion would I lie? I don’t think there’s anytime a good occasion to lie. The only times I lied at my artistic work was when people asked me how much time it took me to work on a certain project. Usually I would minimize the time when it took me twice twice the time I said.

What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work? How some people refuse to pay or pay at a low rate because yout artistic work is “your passion.” They think just because it’s your passion, you should be willing to do it for free. But it’s not a hobby, it is a full time job that takes time, money to buy geat and we all have to make a living to survive!

When and where was I the happiest, in my work? A month ago I shot my first short film as a director in Los Angeles. I was so happy because making movies in LA has always been a dream since I was 15.

If I could, what would I change about myself? I would be less of an introvert so I could be more open to meet new people, discuss my projects, get collaborations and work opportunities more easily, get better at networking.

What is my greatest achievement in work? I have recently received a film grant to shoot a short film in Russia.

Where would I most like to live? Definitely Los Angeles for a few years because there are many work opportunities as a filmmaker and photographer.

What is my most treasured possession? My mind. The way it helps me come up with story ideas, with characters and scenes. It’s like a gold mine, without it I would never be able to create anything.

What is my most marked characteristic? My positive attitude and happy energy. I’m always trying to stay positive at my work no matter what. I smile and laugh a lot, I try to make other people feel comfortable and happy on a film and a photography set. We get caught in so easily with all the issues to solve, the things to do, the stress that we forget to enjoy creating art, it’s beautiful and it can be fun!

What is my most inspirational location, in my city? Any place in LA can be a source of inspiration but I love mostly the New Beverly movie theater. It is an old theater bought by Tarantino where they screen movies in 35mm, old and recent ones. It is like a temple for cinephile where you can watch movies you wouldn’t have access to anywhere else.

What is my favorite place to eat and drink, in my city? I love going to the Verve coffee. It is a nice location to sit for hours and drink some nice beverages.

What books influenced my life and how? “Dear life” by Alice Munro made me discover how you can create stories from anecdotes of different people coming from different backgrounds and experiencing different things in their lives.
“Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking” by Susan Cain taught me how important introverts are in our society. As an introvert it reassured me and taught me that there are good sides to being an introvert and it is not a bad thing. I also learned how introverts and extraverts can live and work together.

You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day? Rock music. Probably all songs by The Neighborhood.

Who is my hero or heroine in fiction? Princess Mononoke from the animated movie. I always admired her independence, her lack of her, her devotion to protect the forest where she lives. She inspires me to be fierce, independent and not give up on stories and people I care about in my artistic career.

Who are my heroes and heroines in real life? As a Russian who moved out of Russia when she was 4, I  admire modern Russian filmmakers. I have a lot of respect on the risk they take to portray a modern Russia, criticize the government and convey their beliefs despite the propaganda and the government’s attempts to stop them. 

Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime?”Cinema Paradiso” It is a love letter to cinema and any cinephile would enjoy watching this beautiful film. It reminds us why we love movies so much, the characters that we remember, the feelings we felt at the theater. It makes you realize the big part films have on our lives.

What role play stories in my life and work? They are central to my work as a filmmaker. There is no film without a good story. You can have the best actors, the best gear, unlimited money, if the story isn’t good, you won’t have a good story. In my life stories help me escape reality, trigger my imagination and travel through space and time to discover new worlds and times.

What do the words ‘You are the storyteller of your own life’ to me? At the end of day, despite what our family or friends or strangers tell us to do, we are the ones making the decisions that will impact our lives. We are responsible of our own path. 

Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime? My Mom. So many times I wanted to give up on filmmaking but she was always there to support me. She believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.

Which people or companies would I like to work with in 2022? I always wanted to work with film companies such as HBO, A24 and Netflix.I want to keep working with people I already did several projects with before. It is always a pleasure to work with them. I would love to work with any creative person based in LA for 2022.

What project, in 2022, am I looking forward to work on? A short film about social media, a feature film I want to write and direct. I also want to launch my film production company and a podcast to discuss and promote the work of upcoming artists.

Where can you see me or my work in 2022?Link to a 25min short film I directed called “Night Wolf”: https://youtu.be/aRARHxpteFI
Link to my 1min directing reel: https://vimeo.com/421712196

Director’s Reel Lada Egorova from Lada Egorova on Vimeo.

What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me? I believe it means that when you have a passion you see yourself doing it all your life, never stopping. You don’t imagine yourself stopping to create. Even though I also believe that we should normalize more the decision to stop something just because we are not as passionnate about it as we were before. We change as human beings and it is possible and totally okay to stop doing something because we don’t enjoy it as much as we used to. There is nothing wrong with that. Art should be something we enjoy doing and not a burden we have to carry for the rest of our existence.

Which creative professionals should Peter invite to tell their story? Soraya Rahmouni.  (Soraya Rahms on facebook)Héloïse Florent.Marie-Salomé Naé. 

How can you contact me? You can contact me through social media if you want to know more about me, want to work on a project together or if you want some advice! Facebook: Lada Egorova Instagram: lada.egorovast