Kiev State Institute of Theatrical Arts in Kiev

The award-winning international filmmaker Andrei Zagdansky earned an MFA from the Kyiv State Institute of Theatrical Arts in Kyiv, Ukraine.

His first feature documentary, the seminal “Interpretation of Dreams” (1990), juxtaposed the filmmaker’s dialogue with Sigmund Freud and the history of the Soviet Union. The result was “interesting and provocative” (Vincent Canby, The New York Times), "an astonishing marriage of Freudian thinking and history” (Boston Globe). The film was awarded the Grand Prix of the most prestigious documentary film festival in the Soviet Union and travelled the film festival circuit around the world. In 1992, Andrei and his family relocated to the United States.

He directed a number of feature documentaries, including “Vasya” (2002), a groundbreaking film that intertwines documentary footage with animated sequences about the Soviet/Russian underground artist Vasily Sitnikov;
Konstantin and Mouse (2006) about the avant-garde figure and performance poet Konstantin K. Kuzminsky and his wife Emma, nicknamed Mouse;
“Orange Winter” (2007), which chronicles and dissects the political turmoil in the streets of Kyiv in 2004 that was later dubbed the “Orange revolution.”

In 2010, Andrei produced/directed his most personal film “My Father Evgeni” about his father Evgeni Zagdansky, who is a filmmaker as well. “My Father Evgeni” is "a smart, impressionistic documentary about the passage of historical time as experienced by father and son” (George Robinson). In 2015, Andrei completed the feature documentary “Vagrich and the Black Square” about his late friend, an avant-garde artist Vagrich Bakhchanyan. Once again, the film collage blends documentary, animation, and staged theatrical performance in an uplifting tribute to a free-thinking man. In 2018, Andrei completed Michael and Daniel, “a meditative and observational masterpiece” (Giuliano Vivaldi, Senses of Cinema). In 2019, he completed the “National Museum”.