Biography
Nika Belianina is a Toronto-based writer/director and fine art photographer whose work lives at the intersection of the wonderfully weird and the profoundly human. She doesn't just create magical realism; she's lived it - from her communist upbringing in the USSR to being adopted into Montana's Blackfeet (Piikani) Tribe, from navigating Peruvian jungle to filming boxing matches in the slums of Nairobi. This unique lens informs all her work, whether in her award-winning photography or comedy films like "The Robbery" (Just for Laughs, Cinefest Sudbury’s Winner) and "Paradox" (CBC Gem), or in her fantastical films that explore anti-utopias like "The Butterflies of Trip City" (produced by Clark Johnson from “The Wire”).
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Nika's fine art photography was placed 2nd in the International Photography Awards (in 2024), got a special mention at the 64th Toronto Outdoor Art Fair besides 35+ other curated experiences in Europe, Peru, Canada and the USA. While she's skilled enough to helm true-crime series for major networks (CTV, Discovery+) and the latest vertical reel trends (“The World Treated me Kindly”, to be released), her true passion is finding the deeply human core in any genre.
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Belianina is a proud cat mom, has an MA in Social Psychology and a tireless curiosity towards life that comes with a big smile on her face.
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Curious Captures is her Photography business established in 2023.
Fun facts
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Originally stayed in Canada only because her Russian documents got stolen
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Was one of the very few female lighting technicians in Toronto in early 2000s
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Spent ten years learning from actor/director Clark Johnson (S.W.A.T., Homeland, Homicide: Life on Street, The Wire) who produced her first several films
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Got lost in medieval catacombs of Czech Republic with Masha Alyokhina (Pussy Riot)
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Has tried ayahuasca in the depths of Peruvian jungle
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Has traveled to about 30 countries, but really wants to go to Space. Almost had her dream fulfilled looking at the starts at the European Southern Observatory in Chile
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Follow on Instagram @lifeasnika
Want to own one of Nika's prints?
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Printed with the outmost care and top archival quality, these collectible and editioned prints are always inspected and signed by the artist. We ship worldwide. Let's start with a chat! Tell us your name and what sparked your interest in the form here.
Nika directs actors
Robert De Niro, Nika Belianina & Jane Rosenthal at Tribeca film festival, 2018
Awards & Acknowledgements
2025 Honourable mention in Photography at the 64th Toronto Outdoor Art Fair
2024 2nd place at the International Photography Awards, self-portrait category
2024 Semi-finalist at the Head-On Photo festival in Landscape category, Australia
2023 Audience Choice Award Winner at the Re-Focus Colour Photography Competition, USA
2022 Women In Director's Chair (WIDC) Story & Leadership program participant
2021 Audience Choice award for "The Robbery" at Cinefest Sudbury film festival
2020 Two Honorable mentions at ND PhotoAwards: Editorial Essay for "Blackfeet Culture" and Night Photography
for the "Magic Forest" series
2020 Best Photography at "Overzealous" exhibit for "Tangled by Sandy Winds", Toronto
2020 Best International Short film - "El Río de los Kukamas" - FINCA, Argentina
2020 RBC Yorkton Film Festival Mentorship Program
2019 Casa Xaaninna Artist Residency award, Mexico
2019 Best Cinematography, "The River of the Kukamas", 23rd To Save and Preserve Ecological film festival in Russia
2018 Canada Arts Council grant award
2018 Honourable Mention at 60 Rochester Int'l FF, USA "El Río de los Kukamas"
2016 Best Documentary Film – Jerome Indie Film & Music fest “Eccentric Eclectic” USA
2014 A finalist of 6th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards in three categories, USA
2013 Silver medal at Gallery Photographica, San-Francisco, USA
2013 Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts - Artist in Residence award, WY, USA
2013 Honourable mention at New York Center for Photographic Art
2013 Audience Choice for Best Canadian Film at ReelHeART Film fest for «The Last Mermaids»
2012 Honourable Mention at 55 Rochester Int'l FF, USA, «The Last Mermaids»
2012 «Best of photography 2012» publication, Photography Forum magazine, USA
2011 Best Experimental Film at World Arts Film Fest (USA) – «Butterflies of Trip City»
2011 Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts - inter-disciplinary Residency Award, NE, USA
2010 Honourable mention at The Julia Margaret Cameron Award (photography), USA
2009 & 2011 Ontario Arts Council Grant Awards, Canada​
2007 Best Fiction at Svirskiy Mif Inter’l Film Festival (Russia) – “Crazy Lovin’ “
2007 Cinematic Excellence – 50 Rochester Int’l Film Festival (USA) “Crazy Lovin’ “
2005 Best Film at First Take Int’l Student Film Fest – “The Doom of the Orb Master”
Press
Playback Magazine feature on the WIDC selections, Nov 2022
CBC Metro Morning "Covid Portraits" radio interview with Gallery 1313, Toronto, 2020
Wild & Scenic Film Festival - We are moving stories, 2019
eFilmCritic interview for Victoria Film Festival, Canada, 2015
Radio interview on "Eccentric Eclectic" with the CFUV, Canada, 2015
An interview by the leading Russian newspaper "Moscow News", 2011
A review of photography after FAT exhibition in Canada, 2011
An interview by Andy Carling, an EU accredited freelance journalist (Belgium'09);
Article in the Oldest Russian Newspaper in North-America «Novoye Russkoe Slovo», NY, 2010
Eye Weekly Magazine online "To Do List" of the week, Canada 2011
Radiostation «Voice of Russia» interview, Moscow, Russia 2009
Article for the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography's magazin, VGIK, Moscow, Russia, 2007
East York Mirror Newspaper, Toronto, Canada, 2005
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