# Nataliya Polovynka

Nataliya Yukhymivna Polovynka (born 27 July 1965) is a Ukrainian soprano singer, actress in theater and movies, educator, and director of theater who won the Shevchenko National Prize in 2006, and founder and head of the Lviv Theater Center "Word and Voice". She plays classical music, old spiritual tunes from Ukraine, and traditional Ukrainian melodies.

## Early life and education

Born on 27 July 1965, in the Ukrainian village of Olhopil. Nataliya went to Mykola Leontovych Vinnytsia Music School from 1980 to 1984, and later took piano classes with professor Maria Tarnavetska at the Mykola Lysenko Lviv National Music Academy from 1984 to 1989. In Pontedera, she interned at the Jerzy Grotowski International Institute, in 1991.

## Career

Nataliya is the director of the theater center "Slovo i Holos" (Lviv) and has starring parts in movies of the filmsBrothers. She has collaborated with the International Jerzy Grotowski International Institute, the Lviv and Kyiv Philharmonic Symphony Orchestras, the Symphonic Orchestra of Lviv Opera, the State Male Choir Dudaryk, the State Men's M. Revutskyj Choir, the capella Dumka, and Cantus.
Pedagogy at the Jerzy Grotowski Institute's Atelier educational project, which took place in 2007 and 2008. She also became the actress and music director of the Les Kurbas Academic Theater in Lviv from 1988 to 2006. She created the Song Studio, which she led from 2003 until 2010 (Majsternia Pisni). She founds the Lviv Municipal Theater, Art, Research and Educational Center "Word and Voice" in 2010. She has been the author and director of the DREVO International Theater Festival since 2015.
Nataliya has authored several other musical and theatrical projects such as:
* ІРМОС, давні духовні наспіви України (2012)
* Пісні Вітру (2008)
* Квітка- невіста (2001)
* Вість літа (2001)
* По Рождеству (2009)
* Земля – Пісня (2023)
* Сад Божественних Пісень (2022)

## Other works

Nataliya has taught at Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Yale University (US), University of Wales (UK), and the Jerzy Grotowski International Institute (Poland).

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Roles | Notes |
| 2013 | Brothers: The Final Confession | Writer | |
| 2018 | Unavailable | Lyuba | lead role |
| 2018 | Tera | Lyuba | lead role |
| 2018 | Eter | Mother of Taras | |
| 2020 | Mother of Apostles | Sofia Kulyk | |
| 2023 | Big Small War | Galya | main actors |

## Awards and recognitions

Nataliya is a recipient of several honors, including the Shevchenko National Prize, and honors from several international film and theatrical festivals. Her accolades include the Silver George Award for Best Actress, which she received for her main performance in the 2013 film "Brothers: The Final Confession." She won five honors at major international film festivals in the US, Canada, Italy, and Ukraine for her leading performance in the movie "Mother of Apostles," which is based on the actual events of Russia's 2014 conflict with Ukraine.
* Shevchenko National Prize (2006)
* Merited Artist of Ukraine (2020)
* Theatrical Figure of the Year (2004)
* Lviv Theatrical Figure of the Year (1999)
| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| Khersonese Games Festival | 2001 | Best Actress | Apocrypha | Won |
| Bosporan Agons Festival | 2001 | Best Actress | Apocrypha | Won |
| National Union of Theater Workers of Ukraine Award | 2003 | Vera Levytska Award | — | Won |
| Moscow International Film Festival | 2014 | Silver George Award for Best Actress | Brothers: The Final Confession | Won |
| Kinokolo National Film Critics Award | 2018 | Best Actress | Tera | Nominated |
| Kinokolo National Film Critics Award | 2021 | Best Actress | Mother of Apostles | Nominated |
| National Union of Theater Workers of Ukraine Award | 2019 | Award for the best stage reproduction of the achievements of the Ukrainian people | — | Won |
| New York Film Week | 2021 | Best Female Role | Mother of Apostles | Won |
| International Filmmaker Festival of New York | 2021 | Best Female Role | Mother of Apostles | Won |
| Ontario International Film Festival | 2021 | Best Female Role | Mother of Apostles | Won |
| Terni Film Festival | 2021 | Best Female Role | Mother of Apostles | Won |
| International Film Festival "Cinema and You" | 2021 | Best Female Role | Mother of Apostles | Won |
| Paris Film Awards | 2022 | Honorable Mention: Best Actress | Mother of Apostles | Won |
| Silk Road Film Awards Cannes | 2022 | March Award for Best Actress | Mother of Apostles | Won |
| Independent Film Festival in Cannes | 2022 | Best Acting | Mother of Apostles | Won |
| Five Continents International Film Festival | 2022 | Best Film Actress | Mother of Apostles | Won |