Ilya "Elijah" Dyachenko
Ilya Dyachenko, aka Elijah Filmmaker – filmmaker, producer, and game designer based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Since third grade, Elijah had been dreaming of becoming a Film Director and working in the Film and Entertainment industry. Today, he’s a young independent filmmaker with a desire to create great movies, TV series, video games, and much more.
Below, you can find a detailed biography of Elijah to get to know him better.
Early Years
Ilya “Elijah” Dyachenko was born in 1993 in Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation. His father is of Russian-Ukrainian descent, and his mother is of Kazakh descent. Since 1996, Elijah has resided in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he grew up among Kazakh relatives and finished school.
Elijah dreamt of becoming a film director since the third grade, when he was 10 years old. Nickelodeon was his favorite childhood channel and very much influenced him. Elijah was watching American cartoons such as “Rugrats”, “Hey Arnold!”, and live-action shows like “Kenan & Kel”. And started drawing characters, comics-style stories, and developing plots for movies.
(Some screenshots from his early Lego stop-motion cartoons, such as “Super Cop” and “Pirates”)
At the age of 10-12 years old, Elijah started creating his first stop-motion animations using Lego sets and his first camera Sony Handycam DCR-HC17E, which his mother gifted him.
Later in his teenage years, Elijah started creating short parody movies together with his cousins as actors in these movies. They called their “production” – “Family Production”. They called their movies “Very Funny Movies,” which included parodies of such movies as “Terminator”, “Jurassic Park”, “Godfather”, “Matrix”, “Blade”, “Harry Potter”, “Titanic”, “Racketeer” (Kazakhstani hit-movie in the 2000s), and many more. In 2010, they created their first non-professional film, “Night of Ghosts,” based on an original screenplay by Elijah.
Between 2000-2011, Elijah studied at Kazakh-Russian gymnasium No. 38 named after Mikhail Lomonosov in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Student Years
In 2011, Elijah enrolled in the Moscow Institute of Television and Radio Broadcasting “Ostankino” (MITRO) in Moscow, Russia. Faculty of Film Directing, Workshop of Dmitry Talankin and Boris Mirza.
In 2014, after the Russian annexation of Crimea and following conflicts in Russian society, Elijah took a gap year and left Russia.
In 2015, Elijah came back to Moscow to finish his education, continuing to study Film Directing in a Workshop of Alla Surikova and Georgy Shengelia. Georgy Shengelia influenced Elijah very much, helping him to create some of his best student films.
In 2017, students of MITRO were transferred to the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Moscow, Russia. Elijah graduated from the Institute of Contemporary Art with a bachelor’s degree in Film Directing.
During his student years, Elijah created several short films:
1. “Trainer” (2013)
2. “Champion” (2016)
3. “Boling Point” (2016)
4. “Boys from the Hood” (2017)
Besides, Elijah tried to launch a YouTube show “At Serik’s Gym” (2012).
Trip to the USA
In 2016, Elijah visited the United States through the Summer Work & Travel Program (United States Department of State Cultural Exchange Program).
Elijah worked at the Magic Springs Theme and Water Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. And also visited New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Volunteering
In 2017, Elijah participated as a volunteer at the Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and worked at the Protocol Department.
Career
In 2017, after graduating from the Institute of Contemporary Art, Elijah came back to Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Before entering the Filmmaking Industry, Elijah worked in other spheres. In 2017, he worked as an intern at a news website, “Komsomolskaya Pravda in Kazakhstan”. And between 2018-2020 worked as a manager at language learning school International British House (IBH) in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Elijah Movies
Around 2020, Elijah decided to start his own business and create commercials and other content for business clients. He called his company Elijah Movies. Elijah worked with many notable companies in Kazakhstan, such as Amperel, H.Bonnar, Novotel Almaty City Center, and many more. To explore Elijah’s Commercial Filmmaking portfolio, click on the button below.
Elijah Kids Studios
For a long time, Elijah had an idea of creating a YouTube channel for kids and teens. And by the end of 2022, Elijah decided to launch a screenplay contest to find a good story to produce a TV series. By April 2023, Elijah had chosen the winning screenplay – “The Whims of the Sun’s Rays” by Diliyara Sharafeeva. During the summer of 2023, Elijah and his team produced a pilot episode. By this date project is still in development.
Work in the Movie Distribution Industry
Between 2023 – 2024, Elijah also had an experience working in the Movie Distribution company “Asanafilm”. He worked at the booking department and participated in the release in Kazakhstan of such movies as The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, The Three Bogatyrs, Heaven Is Beneath Mothers’ Feet, Super Wings The Movie: Maximum Speed, and many more.
Elijah Filmmaker Enterprises
Currently, Elijah is continuing his work in the Filmmaking Industry under the Elijah Filmmaker Enterprises brand. He offers services in Commercial Filmmaking and Animation. He studies Game Design and Theme Park Design. And also Elijah has plans to develop his own IP, and create original content, such as a TV series, cartoons, and develop and publish video games based on his IP.
Teaching
In addition to his main projects, from time to time, Elijah taught filmmaking to the younger generation. Between 2018-2019, he was teaching acting at SanKids. In the summer of 2022, he worked at the Procontent School teaching videomaking, directing, screenwriting, and acting. And in the summer of 2024, he taught videomaking, mobilography, and directing under the Elijah Kids Project.
Courses and additional education
In 2018, Elijah studied an offline course at the Military Technical School in Almaty, Kazakhstan, graduating with the “Rifleman” specialty.
Between 2021 – 2022, Elijah studied an online course “Digital Marketing” by The Flow Pro.
Between 2021 – 2022, he studied an online course “Advanced Filmmaking” by BuffNerds Media.
Hobbies and other activities
Between 2010-2016, Elijah was making music as a hobby using Fruity Loops and Apple Logic Pro Software. Sometimes he created music for his short films. He also tried making rap music in English under Heartlezz and Elijah Dollaz pseudonyms.
Elijah prefers a healthy lifestyle. During the summertime, he likes to go hiking. Also, Elijah participated several times in the Almaty Marathon 10 km distance.
Filmography
Student films:
2013 – Trainer
2016 – Champion
2016 – Boiling Point
2017 – Boys from the Hood
Indie films:
2020 – Vampires in Taxi
2021 – The Case
2024 – The Whims of the Sun’s Rays
Click on the button below to check his Short Films portfolio.
Accolades, Certificates
2018 – Letter of Thanks. “Fantastic Talent” Art Contest. Received as an acting teacher for kids.
2020 – For Excellent Work. From the International British House.
2021 – Certificate for finishing “The Flow” Marketing course.
2022 – Certificate for finishing “The Flow PRO” Marketing course.
News Articles
Ilya Dyachenko shot a short film | Brod.kz (2013)
“Boiling Point” – a bit of craze from Ilya Dyachenko | Brod.kz (2016)