Elena Andreicheva

Elena Andreicheva
Олена Андрейчева
Born1984 (age 41–42)
Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
EducationImperial College London
Occupationfilm producer
Notable workLearning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)
AwardsAcademy Award Oscar for Best Documentary in a Short Subject (2019)

Elena Andreicheva (Ukrainian: Олена Андрейчева) is a Ukrainian-born producer and filmmaker based in the United Kingdom. Her work focuses primarily on documentary filmmaking, including the Oscar-winning short film, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) (2019).

Biography

Andreicheva was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. After graduating from a local school in 1995, she moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 11. Later, she studied physics at Imperial College London, graduating with a Bachelor of Science, and then a master's degree in Science Communication. Despite loving science and majoring in physics in college, she decided to study Science Communication in her master's program since she liked "writing and learning science more rather than being a scientist".

Andreicheva worked in the United Kingdom after graduating. She worked in TV film production beginning in 2006. She was assistant director to Rebecca Marshall on a documentary titled The Forest in Me. The film was shot in Siberia and followed seventy-year old Agafia Lykova, a woman living a two-weeks walk away from the nearest person, virtually a recluse from the Stalin era. She also helped fact check for Nick Rosen's book How to Live Off-Grid.

In 2016, Andreicheva was the director of a documentary titled Polish Go Home, about a "Polish job-seeker returning home from London to reconnect with his family". It was the first time she directed a film. Later, she was the producer of the 2019 documentary film Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl), for which she and Carol Dysinger won the (Oscar) Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 92nd Academy Awards. Her Oscar outfit was made sustainably and she related that to her work "dealing with inequality and injustice". On winning the Oscar, she became the first female winner of Ukrainian origin since the country gained independence. She spoke at the Athens Science Festival in 2021 on how documentary film can help people understand science and technology.

In 2026, it was announced that Andreicheva directed and produced a new documentary, Intelligence Rising, which had its premiere in March in Denmark at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival.

Awards

Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2019 IDA Documentary Award Best Short Documentary Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) Won
2020 BAFTA Award British Short Film Won
2020 Academy Award Best Documentary (Short Subject) Won

References

  1. 1 2 Новости. Общество (September 8, 2024). "Британский кинопродюсер Елена Андрейчева: киевлянка, ставшая обладательницей "Оскара", мечтает снять фильм о событиях в Украине". OBOZ.UA. Retrieved April 12, 2026. Елена родилась, выросла и до 11 лет училась в школе в Киеве. В 1995 году она получила шанс продолжить образование в Великобритании и не упустила его, несмотря на плохое знание английского языка.
  2. 1 2 3 "Українка Олена Андрейчева отримала нагороду на Оскарі-2020 - Lifestyle 24". 24 Канал (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Elena Andreicheva | Science Communication via Documentaries". Athens Science Festival. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2022. Elena Andreicheva is an Oscar and BAFTA-winning Producer and Filmmaker working across documentaries that fuse personal stories with powerful journalism. Born in Ukraine, she studied at Imperial College London (BSc Physics and MSc Science Communication) before sinking deep into filmmaking through jobs in TV production from 2006.
  4. ↑ "Українка Олена Андрейчева, яка отримала Оскар 2020: «Поки не відчуваю, що маю право знімати щось про події на батьківщині»". iod.media (in Ukrainian). February 22, 2020. Archived from the original on April 5, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Народжена в Україні британка отримала «Оскар» за найкращий короткий документальний фільм". Радіо свобода (in Ukrainian). February 10, 2020.
  6. ↑ Headlines, Nick Holdsworth for Russia Beyond the (November 12, 2015). "Stalin, Siberia and salt: Russian recluse's life story made into film". the Guardian. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  7. ↑ Rosen, Nick (2007). How to live off-grid : journeys outside the system. London. p. 357. ISBN 978-1-4464-6388-8. OCLC 973328775.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. 1 2 Istomina, Toma (February 13, 2020). "Kyiv native takes Oscar for best short documentary - Feb. 13, 2020". Kyiv Post. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
  9. ↑ Schmidt, Ingrid (February 10, 2020). "Oscars 2020: Stars step out in sustainable looks by Louis Vuitton and Laura Basci". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  10. ↑ Chianne, Breanna (February 9, 2020). "Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) is the 2020 Oscar Winner for Documentary (Short Subject)". oscar.go.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  11. ↑ Weinberg, Lindsay (February 9, 2020). "Joaquin Phoenix, Kaitlyn Dever Wear Eco-Friendly Outfits to Oscars". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  12. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (February 10, 2020). "Oscars: 'Parasite' Wins Best Picture – The Complete Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Schmidt, Ingrid (February 10, 2020). "Oscars 2020: Stars step out in sustainable looks by Louis Vuitton and Laura Basci". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  14. ↑ Szalai, Georg (March 13, 2026). "War Games About AI: 'Intelligence Rising' Explores Promises, Perils and the Tool Vs. Agent Debate". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Intelligence Rising - Autlook Filmsales". www.autlookfilms.com.
  16. ↑ "Will AI Be Making Our Future Geopolitical Decisions?". cphdox.dk. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  17. ↑ Lewis, Hilary (December 7, 2019). "IDA Documentary Awards: 'For Sama' Wins Best Feature". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  18. ↑ Kiefer, Halle (February 2, 2020). "1917 Is No. 1 at This Year's BAFTA Awards". Vulture. Retrieved March 13, 2022.