Alina Yklymova is a German-Turkmen writer and director. She grew up in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and later in Frankfurt, Germany.
She first studied Motion Pictures at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. More formative than the degree itself was the work she created there with friends and fellow artists: independent photography, concerts and performances developed outside institutional structures. This collective way of making art continues to shape her practice.
Later, she studied directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Her cinematic thinking was particularly shaped by Béla Tarr’s class, especially its humanism and its emphasis on trusting the filmmaker’s own perception.
Her films move between tragicomedy, surreal cinema and political family stories. At their centre are contradictory characters and the question of how social conflict can be told in ways that are both emotionally engaging and entertaining. Her short films have screened at festivals including the Max Ophüls Preis Film Festival, ShortS Trieste and IN THE PALACE. Störenfrieda (engl. She is a good boy) received several awards.
Her feature debut, Matröshki, was produced by Schiwago Film in collaboration with the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, SWR, WDR and HR. The film is currently in post-production and was selected for the Tribeca Creators Market during this phase.
Alongside developing her own screenplays and feature projects, she is interested in directing stories by other writers and collaborating with filmmakers who share her curiosity for unconventional cinema.