Ruslan Korostenskij

Ruslan Korostenskiy, Member of Lithuanian Cinematographers' Guild, is a cinematographer of Ukrainian-Polish descent based in Lithuania. His lineage is traced back to the late 13th century and originates from a noble Polish family.

In 1992-1997, Ruslan Korostenskiy studied at Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Ukraine, Faculty of Film Directing and Production. In 1993-1998, he mastered his painting skills at Ilya Repin St.Petersburg State Academic Institute of Fine Arts, Russia.

Ruslan Korostenskiy started his professional career in the late 1990s, the time of unprecedented growth of video production in Lithuania. In 1997-2001, Ruslan Korostenskiy directed music videos for popular Lithuanian performers and pop singers, among them Elena Puidokaitė-Atlanta, Amberlife, B’avaria, Delfinai, Dinamika, Juozas Erlickas, Geltona, Gytis Paškevičius, Kastaneda, Kupe, Liberte, Mango, Pikaso, Spički, and Jurgita Tvarijonaitė. Most of the director's videos have become the classic of the Lithuanian music video industry and have been subsequently replicated by other music video directors. In 2002, Ruslan Korostenskiy won the Best Director and Best Camerawork Prizes for his music video “Baltas laiškas” (“The White Letter”) by LNK, Lithuanian TV Channel. This event marked the young director’s transition into the commercials sphere where he soon came to be acknowledged as one of top five commercials directors in the Baltic States. In 2001-2006, as a freelance director, Ruslan created commercials for such influential international and Lithuanian trademarks, as MAXIMA LT, RIMI, Statoil; mobile service providers Omnitel, Bitė, and Tele2; beverage giants Kalnapilis, Rasa, and Selita; popular newspapers Respublika, Vakarų ekspresas, Laisvalaikis magazine, and many others. The guru of the visual image contributed to the development of the original design of the SEB Laisvalaikis discount card. In 2007, the Laisvalaikis Discount Card received an award in the Best Product Category within the international SEB Bank Group. In 2001, R.Korostenskiy organised a photo shoot for a leading Lithuanian newspaper Vakaro žinios entitled A “Vakaro žinios“ Lithuanian Girl. The project was a joint effort involving the cult actor Kostas Smoriginas, strategist Justas Tomkus, producer Gedinimas Šapkauskas, and Olialia, one of the most influential Lithuanian trademarks of all times, currently entering the global market. Implementing miscellaneous communications projects, Ruslan Korostenskiy has collaborated with international and Baltic advertising, marketing and public relations companies, including „Havas Worldwide“, „McCann Vilnius“, „DDB Vilnius“, „Not Perfect | Y&R“, „VRS WPI Vilnius“.

From 1998 to 2010 Korostenskiy produced around 10 short films, of which The Light of Your Heart („Tavo veido šviesa“), based on a story by Antanas Vaičiulaitis, has garnered critical acclaim both in and beyond Lithuania, winning in all three nominations at the Baku International Audio-Visual Film Festival in Azerbaijan (2003): the Best Director, the Best Producer, and the Best Audio-Vidual Work.

Ruslan Korostenskiy then switched to the full-feature film format. In 2013, he debuted with [1]The Woman Sun, which was immediately screened at Andrey Tarkovsky‘s Film Festival „Zerkalo“, Russia, European Film Forum Cinergia, Poland, and won the World Premiere Feature Film Prize at the Avanca International Film Festival, Portugal. Korostenskiy is currently considered by Russian film professionals the leading Lithuanian filmmaker combining in himself the best traditions of Russian and Ukrainian cinematography, intertwined with the Baltic reservedness and laconicity. Korostenskiy‘s refined talent in the sphere of visual portrayal were first noticed at the most prestigious European professional community gathering in Berlin, Berlinale. Korostenskij has the exclusive right of representing Lithuanian cinematography at Russian film markets.

1999 – the short feature film The Storm won the 1st Prize at the International Film Festival of the Baltic States, Ryga, Latvia; the 1st Prize at the International Film Festival of the Baltic Region, Helsinki, Finland, and the 1st Prize at the International Festival of the Post-Soviet States, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

2001 – R. Korostenskiy's music video Baltas laiškas (The White Letter) for the music group Pikaso won the main prize in two nominations: the Best Director‘s Work and the Best Cinematographer‘s Work in the music video contest Erdvė, organized by the national public broadcaster LRT.

2003 – Ruslan‘s film The Light of Your Heart (original title Tavo veido šviesa) won the 1st Prize in three nominations – The Best Director‘s Work, the Best Producer‘s Work, and the Best Audio-Visual Work at the International Audio-visual Film Festival, Baku, Azerbaijan.

2013 – the feature The Woman Sun was screened in the special program Tarkovsky. Context at the Andrei Tarkovsky International Film Festival, Russia. The film The Woman Sun won the World Premiere Feature Prize at the Festival de Cinema de Avanca, Portugal.

Unless mentioned otherwise, Korostenskiy is the author of script, camera, directing.

The Devil's Horn (2016) feature film. Kavkaz (2016) feature film. The Woman Sun (2013) feature film. The White Snow (2016), animation film. A Palette in the Dust (2011), documentary film. Masha and Misha (Masha and the Bear) (2010), animation film. Dynasty (2009), documentary film. We Heard Her Say Mother (2009). short feature film. Airan: the Paths of Gods (2004). short feature film. [1] Refresh (2004), a joint Lithuanian-Latvian TV series, director Kyiv: the Independence Square (2005) documentary film. The Light of Your Heart (2003), short feature film. Where Does Motherland Begin? (2003) documentary film. The Sun (2002), short feature film. Sumati (2000), short feature film. Kossacks and the Death (2000), short film series. The Storm (1999), short feature film. The Fox (1998), short feature film.

One of the most distinct features of Korostenskiy’s approach to filmmaking is his skeptical attitude to writing scripts. After a dazzling career in commercials industry, Ruslan Korostenskiy had led to perfection his unique talent at storyboard development and, along his awareness of the general idea of the film, this is the only true material he takes with himself to the shooting location. The directoris known for providing his actors with only basic guidelines of the scene he is going to shoot and texts are handed out one or two days in advance, if at all. Korostenskij largely relies on his exceptional intuition and the natural inclinations of his actors. As one film critic has remarked, “In his films, Ruslan Korostenskij manages to capture and portray the best of what his actors can only aspire to in real life”.

According to best cinematographers of the time, Yuriy Norshteyn, Federico Fellini, and Wong Kar-wai among them, this manner is only characteristic of people who have classical painting skills and expertise in the sphere of the best laws of the golden ratio.

Ruslan Korostenskiy‘s feature The Devil‘s Horn, which is shortly to be released in cinema theatres across the world, is the director‘s endeavour in its own right, revealing the artist‘s life mission, goals, and dreams. This is an explosive yet exquisite mix of European and US visual image industries, combining mystic esthetics with Hollywood glamour and effects. This breakthrough film transcends the conventional boundaries of the visual world and presents a totally new genre, yet awaiting its definition by film critics and connoisseurs alike.

To produce a film like The Devil‘s Horn usually takes a team of a few hundred professionals, including a director, script writers, producers, cinematographers, stylists, special effects specialists, editors, assistants, consultants, and actors. Ruslan Korostenskiy proves that one can indeed be an island. The would-be film guru, who has already received critical acclaim in the world, is the film‘s script writer, director, special effect specialist, editor, and even actor. The film demonstrates that the possibilities of a person with determination are boundless and resources inexhaustible.

The Devil‘s Horn reinterpretes vampire Count Dracula‘s theme from a totally new angle. The director acknowledges that the script itself was conceived when he was six when, as a boy, Ruslan used to listen to old legends about the immortal monster Dracula, told by his beloved grandmother, Songailė Korosene. The film is dedidacted to all femme fatale who both build and ruin men‘s lives, give birth to future generations and instil them with love, self-sacrifice, values, and resourcefulness, and who do not submit themselves to any time-imposed labels. The Devil‘s Horn thus is a confluence of beauty and passion, as well as their creative and destructive powers.

Everybody who has been involved in the production of The Devil‘s Horn – Ruslan‘s partners, friends, actors, critics and even rivals – echo the director, whose genius is yet to be recognized, and his response to Hollywood industry, which attracts armies of many thousands specialists and professionals and spends millions of dollars, but whose output does not get any closer to creating lasting value and an indelible impression.

The Devil‘s Horn is currently attracting foreign tycoons of show business and Guinness World Records publishers. The film has not yet been officially released in cinema theatres, but 85,000 tickets, DVDs, CDs, and USBs with the film‘s avant-première have already been disseminated. Distributors from Great Britain, India, Romania and other countries are ready to release the film in their cinemas.

Ruslan Korostenskiy‘s goal is to prove to the global film community that one person is capable of revolutionizing world film industry. In addition, the creator demonstrates that, while it is impossible to change the deep-rooted system, it is imperative that one seeks to improve it by rewriting its unwritten rules.

For twenty years, R. Korostenskiy has practiced Kendo, a Japanese Samurai sword martial art, explored but by a few dozens of enthusiasts in Lithuania. In 2003, R.Korostenskiy was given the third Dan level of Kendo - all in all, there are seven Dans of this martial art.