Vasilisa Forbes
Vasilisa Forbes (born Moscow, 1992) is a film director and visual artist, known predominantly for the War on Diesel [1] billboard series and WAX [2][3] film and visual art series. Vasilisa started her career in photography for Super Super Magazine before moving on to direct music videos[4] and short films.
Early life
Born in Moscow, Russia, Vasilisa moved to London, UK, aged 5 with her mother.[5] She grew up in Wandsworth before moving to Tower Hamlets (borough of East London) aged 16 to pursue a career in shotting and hoodratting within the vicinity of Shoreditch. Vasilisa started her career in the arts early, at age 13 with ballet at the Royal Academy of Dance and acting at LAMDA. She joined the band FrankMusik as a session synth musician at age 15, after meeting the musician through her Myspace, where she made DJ playlists with artists like Spoek Mathambo before being expelled from the group for being too young to tour. Vasilisa took an internship with Super Super Magazine around this time [6] which initiated her career in photography and film. She was part of the Soho nightlife at Circus Club Soho Revue Bar where she took photographs, publishing a book[7] called In Silence Are Shadows which was reported on by Dazed & Confused magazine for their Teenage Takeover issue in 2009 [8]
Career
Following her start with Super Super during the time of editor Alex Kazemi, Vasilisa went on to create content (photography, articles and interviews)[9] for high-end fashion publications I-D magazine, Dazed [10] and Vice magazine.[11] Her visual arts and billboard series Waxchick,[12] commissioned originally by Annin Arts[13] went on show in London on outdoor public billboards in November 2014.[14] Her Waxchick Prints are sold through Thank You Editions. The Waxchick Film, made for the series in collaboration with director Rory Mckellar was screened at multiple festivals including East End Film Festival,[15] London Short Film Festival[16] and at the ICA.[17] The Waxchick series also featured on the cover of Hungry Eye Journal, selling out in stockists.
Following her success with the WAX film, Vasilisa moved to moving image.[18] She currently directs music videos[19][20] and recently directed the video for Navin Kundra's 'Tear It Up'[21] as well as other recent releases in 2016 such as The Souls 'Fighting in the Moonlight'.
As a performer, Vasilisa is represented by Simon and How.
Awards
- Sony WPO (World Photography Awards) Commended Photographer 2011 and Shortlisted Photographer 2012[22]
- Bar-Tur Award Shortlisted Photographer 2011[23]
- Debut Contemporary Artist Awards Shortlisted 2012[24]
- Aesthetica Arts Prize Listed 2013[25]
- Shorts on Tap[26] - Women's Film Winner 2015[27]
In popular culture
- Vasilisa starred in the viral web and TV series 'Dalston Superstars' with Vice Magazine in 2011.[28]
- Vasilisa featured on the cover of Photography Journal Hungry Eye on the Second Issue Third Volume[29] with her Waxchick Series, which subsequently sold out and was reputed as the 'loudest image to grace the cover of Hungry Eye'[30]
- Vasilisa also starred in the music video 'Nikes' for Frank Ocean which caused much speculation in the long run up to the video's release, resulting in many conspiracy theories[31] on Reddit[32]
- A short Documentary about Vasilisa Forbes was released as part of 'A Women's World' TV Series[33] on RAI Storia produced by Shorts On Tap[34]
Filmography
Short films
| Year | Film | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Wax | Director | East End Film Festival June 2016 - Screened, Nominated London Short Film Festival 2016: ICA Hackney Picturehouse - Screened, Nominated ICA Jan 2016 - Fashion Film Identity - Top Four In House Festival - Screened, Nominated ICA June 2016 - 'Something Else' Film Live Shorts On Tap - Winner Library London December 2014 Wax - Screened Library London November 2015 Wax Live + guests - Screened Kobini Digital Premiere 6 Countries - Premiere, International Karst Artist Films - Screened Deptford Theatre Women in Revolt - Screened Parallel Vienna - Screened, Nominated |
| 2015 | Other | Director / Star | Pilot (Web Series) |
| 2014 | Luke And Vas | Director / Star | Pilot [London Live] |
| 2013 | Arc | Director | Digital Release |
Music videos
| Year | Artist | Track |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Alcatrz | "F Your Feelings" |
| Lishi | "Monster Kids" | |
| The Souls | "Fighting in the Moonlight" | |
| The Souls | "Cry" | |
| Pray TV | "Great Plans" | |
| Living Dead Girl | "Simulation" | |
| Alcatrz | "Mean It" | |
| Alcatrz | "Whatever" | |
| Navin Kundra | "Tear it Up" | |
| Nightgeist & Suddi Ruval | "Some Kinda Feeling"[35] | |
| St Rose | "Keep it Up" | |
| BRO | "Pull Up Selecta" | |
| Ashley Shakur | "Star Crossed" |
References
- ^ Guardian|date=16/10/2016
- ^ IMDB WAX
- ^ DazedDigital
- ^ PromoNews
- ^ Cozy Mag Interview
- ^ Super Super Magazine Internship
- ^ "Kalbult Interview". Kalbult.
- ^ "Circus Nights". Dazed Digital. Dazed & Confused. 12 November 2009.
- ^ "Ozon Interview with Vasilisa Forbes". Ozon Magazine. OzonWeb.
- ^ "Bite Interview with Vasilisa Forbes". Bite Magazine. BITE.
- ^ "Wheels Of Misfortune". Vice. VBS. 6 November 2012.
- ^ Furtado, Will (30 December 2015). "Who's the Waxchick?". Sleek Magazine.
- ^ "Annin Arts Art Shelters". BBC News. BBC. 12 September 2014.
- ^ Sann Wong, Yoon. "Artist Challenges Stereotypes". Design Taxi. Design Taxi.
- ^ "Shorts Programme: This Mess We're In". East End Film Festival.
- ^ "LSFF 2016". London Short Film Festival.
- ^ "Fashion in Film - Identity". ICA. ICA.
- ^ "Vasilisa Talks WAX". Arte Up Arte. Arte Up Arte.
- ^ "Radar Directors". Radar Music.
- ^ "Lishi 'Monster Kids' by Vasilisa Forbes".
- ^ "Navin Kundra's Tear it Up". Choice FM. Choice Radio.
- ^ "Sony WPO". World Photo.
- ^ "Bar Tur Award". Bar Tur Award.
- ^ "Debut Contemporary". Debut Contemporary.
- ^ "Aesthetic Arts Prize: Interview with Vasilisa Forbes". Aesthetic Arts Prize.
- ^ "Jury Winners". Shorts On Tap.
- ^ Karavela, Ioanna (3 December 2015). "Shorts On Tap 'The Hippest Film Night In London". Londonist.
- ^ Rundle, Michael (13 December 2011). "Dalston Superstars". The Huffington Post.
- ^ "HungryEye Issue Cover". Hungry Eye Journal.
- ^ Hungry Eye Journal Issue 2, Vol 3
- ^ Vasilisa Forbes, Frank Ocean, Bullet 2016 involving her
- ^ Reddit Vasilisa Forbes, Frank Ocean
- ^ A World of Women, Rai Storia
- ^ "A World of Women (Title)". IMDB. IMDB.
- ^ "Nightgeist Premiere". House Planet.
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
- ^ "Young Londoners Launch Billboard Campaign". The Guardian. 16 August 2016.
- ^ "Clean Air Now Campaign". Wonderland Magazine. 3 August 2016.
- ^ "We Weren't Aiming For Subtlety". TimeOut London. 22 September 2016.
- ^ "Premiere - Wax Film". Kobini. 28 October 2015.
- ^ Meinking, Frida (20 May 2015). "The Story of London's Eye Popping Billboards". Dazed Digital. Dazed and Confused.
- ^ Dalston Superstars Mockumentary (19 November 2011). Oyster Magazine http://www.oystermag.com/vices-hipster-mockumentary-dalston-superstars.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Bulet, Selim (30 July 2016). "Frank Ocean's Nikes featuring Vasilisa Forbes". Dazed Digital. Dazed and Confused.
- ^ Manning, Emily (16 August 2016). "Frank Ocean To Release Nikes". I-D Magazine. Vice.