Marija Ilijevska

Marija Ilijevska is an actress based in Bristol, England. She was born in Yugoslavia. Marija is of mixed Macedonian and Croatian descent. Growing up in Veles, Macedonia, a town of big influential literary, art and theatre history, that also displayed huge cultural gaps and industrial reorientation, she could only dream for a more colorful future. She started to play the violin at age 7, and completed her musical education in the capital city at age 18. While studying music in Skopje, Macedonia, she attended a youth theatre company, winning her spot through a successful audition. Simultaneously, she took film making classes for young people. She starred in her first short film and received her first stage role at age 16, and was nominated for the latter at a theatre youth festival Faces Without Masks. That key moment stirred a passion in her to become a professional actress and she applied for an acting school in Sofia, Bulgaria. She learned the Bulgarian language specifically to study under the mentor-ship of one of their best stage directors, and was successfully accepted in Krikor Azaryan's acting class. Her first feature film is by one of the best female directors nowadays Teona Strugar Mitevska, I Am From Titov Veles (Macedonia, Slovenia, France) and was a resounding success, receiving high critical acclaim and numerous awards. At the same time she was actively working as a singer and playing synth in a Macedonian-Bulgarian band. Her stage experience includes: music performer, a solo performer in a choir, conductor, a drama teacher, a performing actress. After a short professional break due to motherhood, she was selected as a talent at the Sarajevo Film Festival for the Sarajevo Talents program (from 309 candidates she was one of the 15 actors selected). This small success served as a big inspiration for her and drove her to dream even bigger. She moved to the UK to pursue an acting career in a much larger industry. She loves a fair fight and tough situations. So far, in England she has participated in feature film, several shorts, music video, a documentary and two stage productions.