NY Elite: Congratulations on being an ISC finalist. What does it mean for your work to be selected at the International Screenwriting Competition in New York?

Zykina Victoria: This is really important to me and one of my best results right now.

NY Elite: Can you tell us about the work that you participated with at ISC? What is the story about?

Zykina Victoria: This is a short script of «Bloody Johnny», a dark comedy. It consists of five episodes – «Pet the cat», «Buy donuts», «Invite a woman», «Dance», «Childhood». Johnny is a plump, beer-bellied, bald, mustachioed, tanned man of 45 years. He is very cute, clumsy and constantly seriously injured when trying to get out of scrapes. There are almost no dialogues in the script, the whole suspense is built on action.

NY Elite: Can you tell us yourself and your artistic talents?

Zykina Victoria: The talent of a writer is the only one of my artistic talents. I’m also a very good shotgun shooter. The first two scripts participated in many competitions and festivals, where reached the quarterfinals three times, the semifinals three times, the finals twice and once became the winner at WRPN Woman’s International Film Festival, fall 2021, deserved an Honorable mention. Now I have finished the third screenplay with which I am going to move to the professional level.

NY Elite: What scripts have you written so far?

«Sticking to the life plan», feature, drama, comedy, LGBTQ+, 2021;

«Bloody Johnny» short, dark comedy, 2021;

«From height to lockdown» feature, adventure, comedy, based on real-life events, 2021.

NY Elite: Top 3 favorite projects that you have been involved in?

«Sticking to the life plan», feature, drama, comedy, LGBTQ+, 2021;

«Bloody Johnny» short, dark comedy, 2021;

«From height to lockdown» feature, adventure, comedy, based on real-life events, 2021.

NY Elite: What type of scripts do you want to write in your career?

Zykina Victoria: I want to write scripts for movies to watch at home, which are not based on special effects and a beautiful fairy-tale world. I love going to the cinema to watch beautiful movies. But they lose a lot when viewing at home. I’m going to write scripts based on an exciting story that can be watched anywhere.

I’m also interested in revealing people from different sides. Therefore, in the near future, a social thriller and two dynamic dramas where the main characters have mental abnormalities are planned.

NY Elite: As a writer, what is the most important aspect of building a character?

Zykina Victoria: It is important to make it lively, ambiguous, to combine positive and negative sides. It’s best when the character himself talks to you, and not you put words and actions into him.

NY Elite: What projects are you currently working on?

Zykina Victoria: I am making final edits to the script «From height to lockdown» together with the Norwegian climber Erlend Ness and Russian mountain guide Dmitry Ermakov.

NY Elite: Do you express yourself creatively in any other ways?

Zykina Victoria: I write a series of ironic stories about a little man.

NY Elite: What advice would you give to someone who wants to have a career in filmmaking/writing?

Zykina Victoria: I would advise to be very stubborn and never give up, even if it means years of struggle and a lot of criticism. You also need to listen to yourself, look inside. I realized very late what I really want in life. As well as independently study and improve the skills of a writer by any available means.