Dianna Aleksandrovna "Dina" Korzun (russian: Диа́нна Алекса́ндровна "Ди́на" Ко́рзун; born 13 April 1971) is a Russian theater and film actress.
Life and career
Dina Korzun was born in
Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...
. She graduated from secondary school and Art school, studied ballet and modern dancing. After graduation from the
Moscow Art Theatre School
Moscow Art Theatre School is the studio school of the Moscow Art Theatre. It is a state educational institution that has existed since 1943. The initiator of the studio school was Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre, where she was a stage actress (1996–2000). Her major roles were Katerina in ''Storm'', She in '' I Can't Imagine Tomorrow'', and Helena in ''
Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
''. Korzun made her screen debut in
Valery Todorovsky
Valery Petrovich Todorovsky (russian: Вале́рий Петро́вич Тодоро́вский; born 9 May 1962, in
Odessa) is a Russian film director, screenwriter, TV producer whose best known film is '' Hipsters'' (2008). He is the son of ...
's ''
Country of the Deaf
''Country of the Deaf'' (russian: Страна глухих, Strana glukhikh) is a 1998 Russian crime film directed by Valery Todorovsky, loosely based on Renata Litvinova's novel ''To Own and Belong''. The film set in a fictional underworld of ...
'' (1998) as Yaya, a deaf and mentally ill young woman.
Her other significant role is Tanya in '' Last Resort'' (2000) by
Paweł Pawlikowski
Paweł Aleksander Pawlikowski (; born 15 September 1957) is a Polish filmmaker. He garnered early praise for a string of documentaries in the 1990s and for his award-winning feature films of the 2000s, '' Last Resort'' (2000) and ''My Summer of ...
, for which she won the Best actress prize at the
British Independent Film Awards
The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...
(Best Newcomer on screen),
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...
(FIPRESCI Prize),
Bratislava International Film Festival The Bratislava International Film Festival (also known as Bratislava IFF) is an international film festival established in 1999 and held annually in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Apart from the international competition programme, it also regularly feature ...
,
Gijón International Film Festival
The Gijón International Film Festival ( ast, Festival Internacional de Cine de Xixón or ''FICXixón'') is an annual film festival held in Gijón, a city in northwest Spain.
History
The festival's origins date back to 1963. In the beginning i ...
, and
Thessaloniki Film Festival
The Thessaloniki Film Festival is a Thessaloniki-based cultural institution focusing on cinema. The Institution organizes the Thessaloniki International Film Festival every November and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival every March, while its y ...
.
In 2006, Korzun was nominated for the Best Female Lead at the
Independent Spirit Award
The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...
for her role in ''
Forty Shades of Blue
''Forty Shades of Blue'' is a 2005 independent film directed by Ira Sachs.
It tells the story of Alan James (Rip Torn), an aging music producer who lives in Memphis, Tennessee with his much younger Russian girlfriend Laura (Dina Korzun). Their lif ...
'' as Laura, a young Russian woman living in
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
with a much older musician partner. In 2009, she was nominated for the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
The Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female was an award presented annually by Film Independent. It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an absolutely outstanding performance in a supporting role while working in an indepe ...
for the movie ''
Cold Souls
''Cold Souls'' is a 2009 comedy-drama film written and directed by Sophie Barthes. The film features Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, Emily Watson, and David Strathairn. Giamatti stars as a fictionalised version of himself, an anxious, overwhelmed actor ...
''.
In 2006, Korzun co-founded the
Podari Zhizn
Podari Zhizn (russian: Подари жизнь) is a countrywide Russian non-governmental charitable organization founded in 2006 by actresses Dina Korzun and Chulpan Khamatova. It has sister charities in the United Kingdom (Gift of Life) and in ...
charity foundation, which helps children suffering from oncological and hematological diseases.
Personal life
Korzun speaks Russian and English fluently and has acted in both of these languages.
Recognition
She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2013.