Former diplomat-turned-filmmaker seeks to resolve conflicts via films

Sapozhnikova's films have been broadcast widely and recognised at festivals from Cannes to Los Angeles

- Haneen Dajani

From diplomatic missions to international movie sets, Dubai-based Russian filmmaker Olga Sapozhnikova has spent her life trying to bridge divides between nations, between people and even within the self.

A former Russian diplomat stationed in Japan, Sapozhnikova describes her life's work as one continuous pursuit of “cross-cultural communication”.

“In the beginning I was more interested in how it’s possible to stop wars. Now I’m more interested in how to stop conflicts between people; like if two groups in a company hate each other, or a husband and wife don’t get along, how can we make them be friends?”

Her journey began with a fascination for Japanese culture and diplomacy. She studied Japanese at the Moscow Linguistic University and went on to take a course in political science, which she described as “additional knowledge” to support her interest in diplomacy and conflict resolution. She eventually became one of the first female Russian diplomats to serve in Japan, posted at the Russian embassy in Tokyo, where she was responsible for cultural affairs. “Before, there were never women in this position,” she recalled. But it was a deeply personal crisis that pivoted her career towards filmmaking.

In 2001, her younger sister was caught near Ground Zero during the 9/11 attacks in New York. For three days, Sapozhnikova’s family had no idea whether she had survived. “She lived next to it. She was studying for the New York Bar. For three days we didn’t have connection with her,” she recalled. “She survived, but she lost her house. She was living somewhere without clothes or food. She was helping Americans from under the ground.” That experience pushed Sapozhnikova to take action.