Kseni Avonavi
Director/Writer/Producer
Kseni is an award-winning film director, screenwriter and producer, based in Chicago.
Originally from Russia, she has dreamed of being a filmmaker since her childhood and began to write short stories in her teen years. Kseni attended The Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) and while a student worked on Russian TV shows for several years. After graduating from Moscow Film School, she continued to work on TV shows and made three independent projects as a film producer and director - one narrative and two documentaries on social issues. Later Kseni applied to several Master of Fine Arts programs in the US and Canada. She chose Columbia College in Chicago where she received a Full Tuition Award and in 2016 Kseni began Columbia’s MFA program. There she worked as a teaching assistant and had her internship on the set of Widows directed by Academy Award-winning Steve McQueen. Kseni’s latest television experience was working as an assistant in the location department on Chicago Med TV Series. She’s currently working at Questar Entertainment.
Kseni’s films have been screened at a multitude of film festivals around the globe where she has won quite a few awards. Inspired by her own experience, Kseni is interested in stories that show human strength and willpower. Kseni is a recipient of the The Albert P. Weisman Award, Carole Fielding Student Grant and The Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation Grant to make her thesis Jack and Anna. She is also a recipient of The Lya Dym Rosenblum Professional Development Award. Her thesis film Jack and Anna is currently running through the festival circuit and has been screened at 40+ festivals. It won the Best Global Short: Beyond the Rainbow Award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. It was an official selection of the Academy Award®-qualifying 28th St. Louis Film Festival. The most recent selections include the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award®-qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Presented by Heartland Film. Kseni was also nominated for the Young Director Award, Cannes Lions.
Originally from Russia, she has dreamed of being a filmmaker since her childhood and began to write short stories in her teen years. Kseni attended The Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) and while a student worked on Russian TV shows for several years. After graduating from Moscow Film School, she continued to work on TV shows and made three independent projects as a film producer and director - one narrative and two documentaries on social issues. Later Kseni applied to several Master of Fine Arts programs in the US and Canada. She chose Columbia College in Chicago where she received a Full Tuition Award and in 2016 Kseni began Columbia’s MFA program. There she worked as a teaching assistant and had her internship on the set of Widows directed by Academy Award-winning Steve McQueen. Kseni’s latest television experience was working as an assistant in the location department on Chicago Med TV Series. She’s currently working at Questar Entertainment.
Kseni’s films have been screened at a multitude of film festivals around the globe where she has won quite a few awards. Inspired by her own experience, Kseni is interested in stories that show human strength and willpower. Kseni is a recipient of the The Albert P. Weisman Award, Carole Fielding Student Grant and The Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation Grant to make her thesis Jack and Anna. She is also a recipient of The Lya Dym Rosenblum Professional Development Award. Her thesis film Jack and Anna is currently running through the festival circuit and has been screened at 40+ festivals. It won the Best Global Short: Beyond the Rainbow Award at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival. It was an official selection of the Academy Award®-qualifying 28th St. Louis Film Festival. The most recent selections include the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award®-qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Presented by Heartland Film. Kseni was also nominated for the Young Director Award, Cannes Lions.
