Renata Litvinova

She began her film career as a screenwriter, writing films from 1988 to 1998. None of her earlier projects such as Truck Drivers 2 (1992) achieved any critical or commercial acclaim.[2] She was discovered by fellow director Kira Muratova in 1994 after Muratova had come across Litvinova's thesis she had written for VGIK. Meeting one another at a local festival, Muratova changed her mind and instead wanted Litvinova to star in one of her films.[2] Litvinova auditioned for the role of the female protagonist Violet but was deemed unsuitable. However, Muratova wanted her in the film and allowed her to write a role for herself. Litvinova wrote herself into the film as a nurse.[2] She continued to write screenplays after her role, which included both Male Revelations (1995) and Principled and Compassionate View (1995). The latter film won the Jury prize at the "Window to Europe" Film festival and was showcased in a number of other festivals around the world such as Japan and Germany.[5] She collaborated with Muratova again in 1997 and 1998, writing two screenplays that Muratova directed. Litvinova's screenplay Three Stories was turned into a film in 1997, she also played the role of Opha in it. Her story To Own and Belong was adapted into the critically acclaimed crime film Country of the Deaf in 1998.[2] In 2017 Renata made her full debut in theatre with her own piece called "The North Wind" in Moscow Art Theatre. She was the director and screenwriter, as well as she played the key role in "The North Wind".

In 2000, she gained popularity after transitioning from a screenwriter to an actress, playing the role of Albino Crow in the show The Border[3] She wrote screenplays for films sparingly after this role and starred in all of the films she wrote. Litvinova became acclaimed in the mid-2000s when she was nominated for her roles in Sky. Plane. Girl. (2002), The Tuner (2004) and I’m Not Hurt (2006).[6]

She made her directorial debut in 2000 with the documentary There is No Death For Me. The film focused on the experiences of Litvinova's favorite Soviet Era actresses and gave insight into her views on their stories.[7] As with her screenwriting, she directed sparingly in between her acting roles, directing six films since 2000. She directed her first feature film in 2004, The Goddess, which she also wrote and starred in.[8] In 2006, she directed her first short film, Rado.[8] Litvinova made her first foray into concert films in 2008 when she directed the film Green Theatre in Zemfira. The film was created using footage from a concert of one of Litvinova's friends, musical artist Zemfira Ramazanova.[9] The film won "music film of the year" from independent music award show "Steppenwolf".[10] The two collaborated again in 2010 to create another Ramazanova concert film directed by Litvinova called Moscow. Crokus/Arrow.[8] Finally, Ramazanova served as the composer on Litvinova's second full-length feature film Rita's Last FairyTale (2012), which deals with "universal themes of love, hate and search for love."[11][12]

She lent her voice to the film $8.50 (1999) to be used as a voiceover for the character Xenia who was played by Natalia Adreichenko. Her voice appeared in a number of other films in the 2000s including Frog's Paradise (2007) and Peregrine (2008).[8]