Darya Ekamasova

Russian Award-winning actress Darya Ekamasova was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. She graduated from a music college, playing piano. At the age of 16, she was invited to star in a film by the famous Russian director Andrew Proshkin. She played a girl from an orphanage named Cicciolina. Darya really liked acting in films and, despite disagreements with her parents, she left music and entered the oldest Russian Academy of Theater Arts. During her studies, Darya starred with famous Russian directors such as Boris Khlebnikov, Alexey Fedorchenko, Nikolay Dostal, Nikolay Khomeriki. Films with her participation have repeatedly represented Russia at international film festivals such as Cannes, Venice Film Festival, Berlinale, etc. In 2010, Ekamasova played the lead part in the play "Life is Successful", which received the highest theater Award "Golden Mask". At the same time, the outstanding Russian director Andrew Smirnov noticed her and invited her to play the lead part in the film "Once upon a time there lived a simple woman". This is a folk drama, in the center of the story is a simple peasant woman Varvara. Through the prism of her life and love, the fate of the country is shown. This performance was highly appreciated by critics and viewers. Darya received all main awards in her country, as well as High Commendations at the Asia Pacific Screen Award and became a member of the Asian Film Academy. This film was shown in many countries and became her hallmark in the world of cinema. The film was screened at the 2012 New York Film Festival. That time Darya first came to America. Her life is divided into before and after. She fell in love with New York and began to fly there regularly. In 2013, Ekamasova starred in the American film «Fourth Dimension» with Grolsh Film Works and VICE film. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival. In 2015, The play "Knock" was premiered at the Lost & Found Theater in New York. Her work attracted the attention of American producer Ben Barentholtz, who gave the world such outstanding filmmakers as the Coen Brothers, David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, etc. Barentholtz invited Darya to play the lead part in his directorial debut film «Alina». In August 2017, the premiere took place in Los Angeles, where the film was presented by David Lynch himself. He praised Darya's acting work in this film. In 2017, one of the best casting directors in America, Rori Bergman, drew attention to her and Ekamasova joined the team of «The Americans», she became a series regular character in seasons 5 and 6. Her partners were Matthew Rice, Carrie Russell and Noah Emmerich. At the same time, she continued to act in Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine. Her role as Polina Schneider in Aleksey Fedorchenko's film "Angels of the Revolution" was noted by critics at the Rome Film Festival. And in 2017, Darya received the Chopard Talent Award, presented for the first time to a Russian actress. In 2019, a TV series about the women's Gulag "A.L.Zh.I.R." was released, where Ekamasova played the lead part of Olga Pavlova, who was imprisoned due to the Stalinist repressions of 1937. The 2019 Sundance Film Festival and the 72nd Cannes Film Festival premiered «Give Me Liberty». «Give me Liberty» is an absurd and incredibly lyrical comedy by Kirill Mikhanovsky, which won The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. She also created a magnificent image of Lenin's famous wife Nadezhda Krupskaya in the film "Lenin. Inevitability" directed by Vladimir Khotinenko, and Yevgeny Mironov himself became her co-star. And in 2019, the Norwegian TVshow Occupied was released on Netflix, where Darya played a lesbian girl who came under political pressure because of her sharp tongue. In 2021, the «Khrustalny» TV series by Serbian director Dusan Gligorov was released, which became the best TV series in Russia in 2021. Ekamasova played the main female role of a prostitute Katya Skazka, who helps to catch a pedophile maniac. In 2022, Darya appears in the series «To the lake 2», which was the first Russian project for Netflix. In August 2022, at Window to Europe Film Festival, Ekamasova won The Best Actress Award for her performance in the film «Just before» directed by Alisa Erokhina. She continues to study music and her dream is to play a part of a pianist. Member of SAG AFTRA