Artyom Somov
Artyom was born in Sarapul, a small town in the Udmurtia Republic, Russia. He graduated from Izhevsk Technical University in 2004 with a degree in engineering. Though his launch into a career on TV was by chance, it set his professional path for many years to come. As a university student, Artyom worked as a film editor. He then mastered the art of being a motion designer and cameraman.
Artyom joined RT Documentary in 2005 and advanced from editor to film director. During his years with RTD, he worked on several dozen projects, most notably ‘ToxiCity’, ‘Dance, sex, dance’, and ‘Inferno Village’. His films have won several awards. Among them: the silver prize at the New York Festivals in 2008, the Grand Prix at the Khanty-Mansiysk Eco Festival in 2008 (for ‘Saving the Amur Tiger’), and a nomination in the society category at the World Mountain Documentary Festival in 2014 (for ‘My son, Ex-terrorist’)
“For me, the most thrilling thing about documentary filmmaking is the opportunity to watch and record protagonists and events without interfering. My job has numerous upsides: I am always on the move, going to new contrasting places – from slums to stylish cities, from -40 °C to +40 °C … I travel a lot, and I am always bright-eyed and bushy-tailed”.