Nataliya Polovynka


Nataliya Yukhymivna Polovynka is a Ukrainian soprano singer, actress in theater and movies, educator, and director of theater who won the Shevchenko National Prize in 2006, and founder and head of the Lviv Theater Center "Word and Voice". She plays classical music, old spiritual tunes from Ukraine, and traditional Ukrainian melodies.

Early life and education

Born on 27 July 1965, in the Ukrainian village of Olhopil. Nataliya went to Mykola Leontovych Vinnytsia Music School from 1980 to 1984, and later took piano classes with professor Maria Tarnavetska at the Mykola Lysenko Lviv National Music Academy from 1984 to 1989. In Pontedera, she interned at the Jerzy Grotowski International Institute, in 1991.

Career

Nataliya is the director of the theater center "Slovo i Holos" and has starring parts in movies of the filmsBrothers. She has collaborated with the International Jerzy Grotowski International Institute, the Lviv and Kyiv Philharmonic Symphony Orchestras, the Symphonic Orchestra of Lviv Opera, the State Male Choir Dudaryk, the State Men's M. Revutskyj Choir, the capella Dumka, and Cantus.
Pedagogy at the Jerzy Grotowski Institute's Atelier educational project, which took place in 2007 and 2008. She also became the actress and music director of the Les Kurbas Academic Theater in Lviv from 1988 to 2006. She created the Song Studio, which she led from 2003 until 2010. She founds the Lviv Municipal Theater, Art, Research and Educational Center "Word and Voice" in 2010. She has been the author and director of the DREVO International Theater Festival since 2015.
Nataliya has authored several other musical and theatrical projects such as:
  • ІРМОС, давні духовні наспіви України
  • Пісні Вітру
  • Квітка- невіста
  • Вість літа
  • По Рождеству
  • Земля – Пісня
  • ''Сад Божественних Пісень''

    Other works

Nataliya has taught at Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, University of Wales, and the Jerzy Grotowski International Institute.

Filmography

Awards and recognitions

Nataliya is a recipient of several honors, including the Shevchenko National Prize, and honors from several international film and theatrical festivals. Her accolades include the Silver George Award for Best Actress, which she received for her main performance in the 2013 film "Brothers: The Final Confession." She won five honors at major international film festivals in the US, Canada, Italy, and Ukraine for her leading performance in the movie "Mother of Apostles," which is based on the actual events of Russia's 2014 conflict with Ukraine.
AwardYearCategoryNominated workResult
Khersonese Games Festival2001Best ActressApocryphaWon
Bosporan Agons Festival2001Best ActressApocryphaWon
National Union of Theater Workers of Ukraine Award2003Vera Levytska AwardWon
Moscow International Film Festival2014Silver George Award for Best ActressBrothers: The Final ConfessionWon
Kinokolo National Film Critics Award2018Best ActressTeraNomitated
Kinokolo National Film Critics Award2021Best ActressMother of ApostlesNomitated
National Union of Theater Workers of Ukraine Award2019Award for the best stage reproduction of the achievements of the Ukrainian peopleWon
New York Film Week2021Best Female RoleMother of ApostlesWon
International Filmmaker Festival of New York2021Best Female RoleMother of ApostlesWon
Ontario International Film Festival2021Best Female RoleMother of ApostlesWon
Terni Film Festival2021Best Female RoleMother of ApostlesWon
International Film Festival "Cinema and You"2021Best Female RoleMother of ApostlesWon
Paris Film Awards2022Honorable Mention: Best ActressMother of ApostlesWon
Silk Road Film Awards Cannes2022March Award for Best ActressMother of ApostlesWon
Independent Film Festival in Cannes2022Best ActingMother of ApostlesWon
Five Continents International Film Festival2022Best Film ActressMother of ApostlesWon