COACHING
Acting in front of the camera

Alesia Lifantii (United Kingdom,Ukraine)
I came to Victoria’s workshop as a rather self-assured young woman. At the time, I somehow believed that having a formal education and a bit of filming experience was quite enough to feel like a proper actress. I couldn’t see my own mistakes,  though there were plenty of them. I wasn’t at all natural on camera, and my performance was so overacted it was painful to watch. On top of that, my eyes were completely empty.
My screen tests during the workshop were absolutely dreadful, but by observing Victoria’s work with graduates of the film schoo l, who were also participating in the workshop, I began to understand what it means to be truly natural on screen, to exist in the pauses, and to have eyes that are full of presence.
It was from this workshop that I began to realise the vast difference between stage presence and screen presence, between acting in a TV series and acting in a feature film. I wouldn’t say that a few days at any workshop can miraculously teach you everything, but I’m certain that when you find yourself in a creative environment with a good coach, mentor, or director, you begin to see the path you need to follow.
That’s when your personal journey begins, a process of growth and learning from your mistakes, one that never really stops. It’s the path I’m still on, and I’m truly grateful to Ms Victoria for pointing me in the right direction back then.

Johara Belhmane (Belgium)

I took part in the acting workshop organized by Brussels Ciné Studio, it was the author’s course of film director Victoria Trofimenko.
The workshop I took with Victoria Trofimenko was incredible. I learned a lot, in a benevolent and professional atmosphere.
Everything Victoria proposed was well-thought, scalable, and useful. She really took the time to properly explain and help everyone in their apprenticeship. I learned how to take my time and trust in my abilities. Victoria also confronted us with our image on screen, which I thought was really interesting and necessary, especially since it opened up so many conversations about self image as an actor. Everything that we did was done in-depth, professionalism and honesty and was truly useful for actors as well as for directors.
It has helped me much through my next castings and auditions, as well as during my shootings, and I wish I had more time to work with Victoria and will definitely do so if and when the opportunity arises.

Slava Babenkov (Ukraine)

I recommend Victoria’s course to both beginners and professional actors. She pays close attention to the nuances of on-screen performance—subtle details that an actor might easily overlook during preparation. Victoria helps you see your work through the eyes of a director. Sometimes, you leave an audition thinking you’ve done brilliantly, that there was chemistry, only to wonder later why the result doesn’t reflect what you felt in the moment. But during the workshop, when you watch the footage back, you realise it didn’t work at all. What you experience during the interaction with the director can be completely different from what’s actually captured on screen. Seeing your performance alongside others—and from the director’s point of view—helps you understand that what felt powerful in the room may not translate on camera. It gives you a clearer sense of how a director thinks and makes decisions. That insight is incredibly helpful during the audition process, too.
Victoria is an active working director, so she knows exactly what actors need to do in front of the camera. The course includes a strong focus on practical, on-camera work. If I had the chance to attend it again, I’d do so without hesitation.