“You do not need to make yourself smaller, safer or easier to understand in order to belong in this industry. The work becomes stronger when you stop trying to fit someone else’s idea of what a filmmaker should be and start making the stories only you can tell.”
Screenwriter & Director — @stasikolenko
What pulled you into film and TV in the first place?
I spent nearly 15 years in theatre, performing in and directing works of classical drama. That experience taught me how deeply character, conflict and human behaviour can be explored through story. Over time, I began to feel that I had developed my own voice and wanted to create worlds rather than only interpret existing ones. That is what pulled me toward screenwriting and filmmaking, the chance to tell my own stories, especially about women, intimacy, power and the contradictions we often keep hidden.
What do you think the industry gets most wrong about women like you?
I think the industry often underestimates women who are both emotionally driven and ambitious. There is still a tendency to treat sensitivity, intimacy and stories centred on women as somehow smaller or less cinematic. I believe those qualities can be a source of enormous creative strength, and that women should not have to become less complex, less feminine or less personal in order to be taken seriously.
What does success mean to you?
Success means having the freedom to keep making work that feels true to me, films I care deeply about, with people I respect, without having to compromise the core of what I want to say. It also means building a career strong enough that I can keep choosing difficult, personal stories and give them the scale and audience they deserve.
What are you most proud of that most people don’t know about?
I’m proud that I kept building a life, a family and a creative career after losing both of my parents very young. Most people only see the work I do now, but they don’t see how much of my life was built from scratch. I’m proud that I turned that experience into strength without letting it make me less open, less ambitious or less capable of love.
What keeps you going when the industry makes it hard?
I genuinely cannot imagine my life without this profession. Filmmaking is not simply what I do, it is part of who I am. The industry can be slow, difficult and full of rejection, but the need to create never disappears. I keep going because there are stories I cannot let go of, and because making them real is one of the ways I understand myself and the world around me.
What is one piece of advice you wish you had heard earlier?
Trust your own voice earlier. You do not need to make yourself smaller, safer or easier to understand in order to belong in this industry. The work becomes stronger when you stop trying to fit someone else’s idea of what a filmmaker should be and start making the stories only you can tell.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I’m currently developing my first feature films and am especially interested in connecting with producers, co-producers and creative collaborators who are drawn to emotionally complex, female-led and queer stories. I’m based in Cyprus and work internationally. More about my work can be found on IMDb and through my professional social media.🤗
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