Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Irina Patkanian came to the U.S. in 1991 after graduating from the University of St. Petersburg with a BA in English Literature. After receiving an MA degree in Linguistics from the University of Iowa, she was awarded an American Association of University Women International Fellowship to pursue an MFA degree in Film Production. Irina Patkanian makes hybrid (fiction/nonfiction) films questioning history with poetry, memory with animation, behavior with performance. Irina’s films have screened at more than 140 film festivals worldwide, incl. DOC NYC, Ann Arbor, STARZ Denver, Palm Springs, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and many others, winning more than 30 awards. Her work has been supported by fellowships and grants from New York State Council of the Arts, NYFA, Tow, Blaustein, Troy and Jerome Foundations, as well as artist residencies at the Millay and MacDowell, Ucross and The Studios of Key West; as well as abroad: Cowhouse, Greywood Arts and Watershed (Ireland), Art