Maria Saakyan (b. 1980, Yerevan) was born and grew up in Armenia but moved to Russia with her parents in 1992. She graduated from Moscow’s VGIK film school in 2003 with a degree in directing and animation. During her studies, she shot several short animated and experimental films. Her graduate work was the short The Farewell (Proshchanie, 2003). Her feature debut The Lighthouse (Mayak, 2006), which explores the subject of war in the Caucasus, was shown at numerous festivals, including Rotterdam and London. I’m Going to Change My Name is her second feature. She also recently completed the experimental film Entropy (Entropiya, 2013).
48. MFF Karlovy Vary
