Rising Stars: Meet Ilya Bobrovskiy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ilya Bobrovskiy.

Hi Ilya, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I graduated from the University of Fine Art in Moscow, Russia, and first ten years did a lot of things like paintings, interior design, and sculptures but always was interested in photography. Started from the old Russian film camera Zenit which my father gave as inspiration and practice device. It led me to Cinematography classes where I was noticed by a professional Director of Photography and he took me on set to help him with his equipment as a Camera Assistant. Since then, I was gripping, gaffing, focus Pulling, and finally shot my first big project with a few famous actors attached as Director of Photography(DP). This short movie got some local rewards but more important that co-producer on this movie was the director of a well-known film school in Moscow and he invited me to be his DP in his feature film he directed. I was lucky enough to jump into a bigger project than I expected that year.

Eventually, this movie was screened all over the country. He gave me valuable advice to do not waste time and get more experience on Los Angeles movie sets rather than shoot local movies, and that I should try and challenge myself to become a bigger professional. It was pandemic times at the very beginning and in our country everything stopped at that moment. I took my wife and all my savings and moved to LA. Getting the Green Card is another long story but more importantly for me that I met incredible people, and can see how I grow with my craft from year to year. I shot seven shorts and one feature movie at my first year in LA and was amazed at how many inspired people you can meet here. It feels like I am in the strong current of a river after being for years in a pond. And I see that I finally found a lot of friends who are crazy about movies the way I am.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not a smooth ride for sure. And it is still going. The biggest struggle for me was when my career started came near the beginning of the pandemic period. All theaters were closed. All festivals were postponed. I just shot my first feature film, and it feels like the end of a good start. That gave me faith in my dream. If you are familiar with immigration struggles, you can understand how the level of those struggles was multiplied by pandemic times. A big banner “Nobody knows when it ends and what to do” was on every turn of my life that time. But someone said: if you follow your dreams and everything on your way is against you, every step feels impossible, you can always lay in the direction of your dreams. That helped me a lot that time. Still think it was the best decision in my life, even if I knew how many obstacles will be on my way.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a Director of Photography. Some people say – Cinematographer. I shoot movies, commercials, music videos, and documentaries. Person behind the camera. I shot more than 20 short movies and three Feature films since I moved to LA in 2021. Shot a Documentary about “Digital Underground” for example. I had a late start of my DP career in my early 30s, but my Fine Arts background gives me an advantage as well as my good studying habits. I get used to learning new things at any age. I have three diplomas. I can say I am a nerd in some way.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Wish everybody who struggles don’t stop to fulfill their dreams. We are happy on the road, not in the end of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ibobrovskiy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ibobrovskiy/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilya-bobrovskiy-dp

Image Credits
Mary Senn Daniel Rubinshtein Will Rotthaar Amiee Conn