Director Biography – Tatjana Moutchnik

Born in 1988 in Ukraine, Tatjana Moutchnik immigrates to Germany as a child. Early on, she dedicates herself to drawing and photography. Later she turns to playing theatre and realising short films with friends. After graduation, she works in Vienna as an assistant for fictional and documentary projects. From 2009 to 2016, Tatjana studies feature film directing at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, including an exchange semester at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem. Tatjana’s films treat subjects as identity, migration and family life. Her short films have been screened at Hofer Filmtage and Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis. Tatjana currently develops her first feature at Drehbuchwerkstatt München. She lives and works as a freelance director and writer in Berlin.

Director Statement

BEAR HILL PATH tells the story about coming home and wanting to hide – from responsibilities, from making decisions, from growing up. I wanted to give an undramatic, intimate glance on family life. That’s why I chose to work with the main actor’s real family and their actual circumstances. By letting them improvise given situations, documentary and fictional filmmaking could melt into a form of its own. The naturalistic acting is counteracted and framed by the static camera and elevated by the performative elements that give us a non-verbal insight into the main character’s mind.