Born 1989 in Helsinki, Finland
Based between Amsterdam & Berlin
EDUCATION
2012-2016 Choreography BA, SNDO, School for New Dance Development, Amsterdam
2011-2012 Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance, Austria
Awards
2024 Honourable mention, Outstanding Short Doc, Frameline, LGBTQ Film Fest San Francisco
2024 Honourable mention, Camden Film Festival
2024 Honourable mention, Interfilm Berlin Short Film Festival
2024 Best experimental film, Aesthetica short film festival
2024 Best experimental film, Oslo Film festival
2024 Best Short Film Award, Leiden Short Film Festival
2022 Silver Lion, Venice Biennale
2018 The Total Theatre Awards, emerging category, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
2018 "Spirit of CUFF Award", Chicago Underground Film Festival
2017 Prix Jardin d’Europe, Impulstanz, Vienna
2016 André Veltkamp Award with Cock, Cock.. Who's There?
2014 Winner of visual art competition “Blooom Awards”, Art.Fair Cologne (Four Kings)
Nominations
2024 Nominated for best short film, Helsinki International Film Festival, Love and Anarchy
2024 Nominated for Golden Cube award, Kasseler Dokfest
2024 Nominated for best short documentary, Mix Brazil Festival of Diversity, Sao Paolo
2024 Nominated for best short documentary, Bogota Short, Bogotá
2024 Nominated for best short documentary, Chicago International Film Festival
2024 Nominated for best short documentary, Festival Dei Popoli, Florence
2024 Nominated for best queer short, Leeds International Film Festival
2024 Nominated for best short documentary, Uppsala Kortfilmfestival
2024 Nominated for best short documentary, Seattle International Film Festival
2024 Nominated for Golden Calf, best short documentary, Nederlands Film Festival
2024 Nominated for best international short, Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg
2018 Nominated for "Judges’ Choice Award/shows with a finger on the pulse of social change", Dublin Fringe
2017 Nominated for Forum van de Regisseurs, Nederlands Film Festival
2017 Nominated for QueerArt competition, QueerLisboa
2017 Nominated for best international films at Transcinema, Peru
2017 Nominated as “Promising Talent of 2017, Tanz Magazine
2017 Nominated for the BNG Bank Nieuwe Theatermakersprijs
2017 Nominated for CPH:DOX’s main competition DOX:AWARD (Craigslist Allstars)
Works in Collections
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art / Finnish National Gallery, Finland
LI-MA, Living Media Art
SELECTED Film Festivals
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, International Film Festival Rotterdam
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Hot Docs, Toronto
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Chicago International Film Festival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Vancouver International Film Festival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Adelaide Film Festival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Vancouver Queer Film Festival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Festival Dei Popoli, Florence
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Mix Brazil Festival of Diversity, Sao Paolo
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Bogota Short, Bogotá
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Out On Film, Atlanta
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Winterthur Film Festival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Leeds International Film Festival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Kasseler Dokfest
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Camden Film Festival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Uppsala Kortfilmfestival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Melbourne Queer Film Festival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Chéries-Chéris, Paris
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Helsinki International Film Festival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Guanajuato International Film Festival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Seattle International Film Festival
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Kurzfilm Hamburg
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Frameline, LGBTQ Film Fest, San Francisco
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Xposed Queer Film Festival, Berlin
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Nederlands Film Festival, Utrecht
2022 Seek Bromance, Helsinki Film Festival Love and Anarchy
2021 Seek Bromance, IDFA, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
2018 Craigslist Allstars, CUFF Chicago Underground Film Festival
2018 Craigslist Allstars, EDOC, Ecuador
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Ambulante, Mexico City
2018 Craigslist Allstars, Nordic Film Festival, Reykjavik
2018 Craigslist Allstars, Finnfilm Napok, Budapest
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Transcinema, Peru
2017 Craigslist Allstars, This Human World - International Human Rights Film Festival
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Rokumentti film Festival, Joensuu
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Nederlands Film Festival, Utrecht (Nominated for art film competition)
2017 Craigslist Allstars, QueerLisboa, Lissabon (Nominated for QueerArt competition)
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Helsinki International Film Festival Love & Anarchy, Helsinki
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Sydney Underground Film Festival, Sydney
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Open City Documentary Festival, London
2017 Craigslist Allstars, DokuFest Kosovo, Prizren
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Encounters, Cape Town
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Docs Against Gravity, Wrocław + Warsaw
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Cinedoc Tbilisi, Tbilisi
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Beldocs, Belgrade
2017 Craigslist Allstars, DokFest Munchen, Munich
2017 Craigslist Allstars, nominated to DOX:AWARD, CPH:DOX 2017, Copenhagen
2016 Craigslist Allstars, IDFA, International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam
Selected Exhibitions
2024/25 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum, Helsinki
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can.., MAC Museum of Contemporary Art Marseille
2024 You can’t get what you want but you can.., Uppsala Konstmuseum
2023 You can’t get what you want but you can get me, Galleria Sculptor, Nuoret23, Helsinki
2019 The Young and The Willing, S.A.L.T.S Gallery, Basel
2019 The Young and The Willing, LI-MA, Amsterdam
2018 The Young and The Willing, Actoral Festival, Marseille
2018 Craigslist Allstars, La Casa Encendida, Madrid
2018 The Young and The Willing, FLAM festival, Amsterdam
2018 The Young and The Willing, La Breda in association with BREDAphoto
2018 Craigslist Allstars; The Young and The Willing. Wiesbaden Biennale
2017 The Young and The Willing, The White Chapel Gallery, London
2017 The Young and The Willing, work in progress showing, Third Space Gallery, Helsinki
2017 The Young and The Willing, work in progress showing Veem House For Performance
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Mumok Vienna
2017 Craigslist Allstars, The EYE Film Museum, Amsterdam
2017 The Ukrainian, Baby I like it Raw -exhibition, Czech Center, New York
2017 Four Kings, Art.Fair Rotterdam
2015 The Ukrainian & Suck My Disc, Art/Life Institute, Kingston, New York
2015 Craigslist Allstars, Mitsume Gallery, Tokyo
2014 Four Kings, Blooom Award, Art.Fair, Cologne
Performance Festivals / venues
2024 Seek Bromance, Husets Teater, Copenhagen
2023 Seek Bromance, Nowy Teatr, Warsaw
2023 Seek Bromance, Inkonst, Malmö
2023 Seek Bromance, Kanuti Gildi Saal, Tallinn
2023 Seek Bromance, Impulstanz, Vienna
2023 Seek Bromance, HAU, Berlin
2023 Seek Bromance, Frascati Theatre, Amsterdam
2023 Seek Bromance, Teatro Do Bairro Alto, Lisbon
2022 Seek Bromance, Black Box theater, Oslo
2022 Seek Bromance, Campo, Ghent
2022 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There?, Usine-C, Montreal
2022 Seek Bromance, Tanzquartier Vienna
2022 Seek Bromance, Theater Rotterdam
2022 Seek Bromance, Actoral Festival, Marseille
2022 Seek Bromance, Wiesbaden Biennale, Wiesbaden
2022 Seek Bromance, Ruhrtriennale, Essen
2022 Seek Bromance, Venice Biennale, Venice
2022 Seek Bromance, Spider Festival, Ljubljana
2022 Seek Bromance, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels
2022 Seek Bromance, Arsenic, Lausanne
2022 Seek Bromance, Bit Teatergarasjen, Bergen
2021 Seek Bromance, Spring Festival, Utrecht
2020 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There? Teatro Do Bairro Alto, Lisbon
2020 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There? Adelaide Festival, Adelaide
2020 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There? 4+4 Days in Motion, Prague
2019 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There? La Biennale in Toulouse, Théâtre De la Cité
2019 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There? Short Theatre, Rome
2019 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There? Nowy Teatr, Warsaw
2019 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There? Cambridge Junction, Cambridge
2019 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Take me Somewhere Festival, Glasgow
2019 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There? Brighton Fringe, Brighton
2019 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There? It’s the Real Thing, Basel
2019 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There? Program Commun, Lausanne
2019 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? 100% festival, La Villette, Paris
2019 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Side Step Festival, Zodiak, Helsinki
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Spectacular Festival, Reykjavik
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Actoral Festival, Marseille
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Dublin Fringe Festival
2018 Cock, Cock.. ;Craigslist Allstars; Wiesbaden Biennale
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Tampere International Theatre Festival
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Edinburgh Fringe Festival
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Uppsala Stadsteater
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? IPAF festival, Warehouse9, Copenhagen
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Labo festival, Cullberg ballet/Stockholm
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? + Craigslist Allstars, BIT Teatergarasjen, Bergen
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Kaaitheater, Brussels
2018 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Gesnerallee, Zürich
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Campo, Ghent
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Theatre Bellevue, Amsterdam
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Magro Theater, Mantova
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Beursschouwburg, Brussels
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Rotterdamse schouwburg
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Spider Festival, Ljubljana
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Homo Novus festival, Riga
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Doc Lounge Stockholm
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? Black Box, Oslo
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Impulstanz, Vienna
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Virtual Desires, University of Witten/Herdecke
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Santarcangelo Festival, Santarcangelo
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Hango Teaterträff
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, The EYE film museum, Amsterdam
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There? + Craigslist Allstars, Spring Festival, Utrecht
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Radical Jung theatre Festival, Munich
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Festival Extra Ball, Paris
2017 Craigslist Allstars, Motel Mazaique festival, Rotterdam
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Campo, Ghent
2017 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Something Raw festival, Amsterdam
2017 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There? , Mad House, Helsinki
2016 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Les Urbaines, Lausanne
2016 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, NU performance Festival, Tallinn
2016 Cock, Cock… Who’s There?, Frascati theatre, Amsterdam
2016 Cock, Cock.. Who’s There?, Theater Aan Zee, Ostende
Selected Interviews
2024 VICE, “Samira and Z made a hyper-intimate film about budding trans love”
2024 YLE "palkittu suomalaisohjaaja teki kumppaninsa kanssa kuuman elokuvan”
2024 Amarello “Amor, arte e identidade: O levante afetivo de Samira e Z”
2023 Art Dusseldorf Magazine, “Signals Elagoz as important, rising force in the experimental art world.”
2023 A Shade Colder, “queer, provocative and emotionally intense, Seek Bromance was a must-see.”
2023 PW Magazine, “Samira Elagoz: Masculinity is Missing a Good Role Model”
2023 Cineuropa, “We discussed trans-masculinity and performative cinema with director..”
2022 De Morgen, “Breathtaking romance at the end of the world”
2022 Helsingin Sanomat, “Samira Elagoz is known for his works that mix film and performance."
2018 MUBI, “Theatre of Sex and Body Politics: Body, Gender and Representation in "Craigslist Allstars”
2018 The Independent, “#MeToo themed shows tackling sexual abuse”
2018 Berlin Art Link, “One artist, however, was ahead of the game: Samira Elagoz.”
2018 De Starndaard. ”If one piece captures the complexity of #metoo, it is 'Cock, Cock ... Who's..'
2017 Falter “One of the TOP10 theatre works of 2017”
2017 Helsingin Sanomat, “..You can’t but join its praisers. It’s unlike anything you’ve seen before.”
2017 NYT,fi, “Samira Elagoz made a documentary that has never been seen before”
2017 Ruskeat Tytöt, “..artist decided to make a documentary that cast men on Craigslist
2017 Suberbalist, "the film itself is a masterpiece in improvisation"
2016 Cineuropa, "Cineuropa talked to up-and-coming artist samira elagoz"
Selected Reviews
2024 Helsingin Sanomat, ”A work that everyone should see"
2024 HBL, “I was so touched that I passed out”
2024 Polyester Magazine, “One of the emotional peaks of this edition”
2024 Slant Magazine, “A highlight from the program”
2023 Screen Slate, “Best films of 2023”
2022 De Standaard, “A show not to be missed - Rarely do you get such an intimate insight..”
2022 Theaterkrant NL, “Mind blowing gender Odyssey”
2022 NO NIIN Magazine, “Impressive and thought-provoking, 4h, not a minute too long”
2021 NRC, “ability to completely upend any viewer's beliefs about gender, intimacy and sexuality”
2018 Times Magazine “Best takes on the male gaze”
2018 Exeunt Magazine, “Might be the best thing at Edinburgh “
2018 730Review, “Part experiment, part film, part f*ck you...This is the kind of theatre I want to see.”
2018 The List UK, ***** “a statement of fierce defiance without ever raising its voice to a shout.”
2018 The STAGE UK, **** “fearless in the face of potentially dangerous and pervy internetstrangers”
2018 The Scotsman, **** “..there’s an ultimate sense that consensual intimacy is still a beautiful thing"
2017 Volkskrant, "Elagoz's self-presentation very intelligently exposes a taboo subject.”
2017 Der Standard "A piece that hits the spot. Men should look at it gratefully.”
2017 European Cultural News,”Very complex and remarkable work in which humanity is the focus."
2017 Episodi.fi, ***** "Craigslist Allstars is a true pearl”
2017 Soundvenue, ***** “Indispensable documentary debut, that is not easy to categorize.”
2017 Nordisk Film and TV, "Very fresh film - pushes the definition of documentary filmmaking"
2016 Knack magazine, **** “raw-realistic, frivolous, moving, funny, as dramatic as it is optimistic."
2016 Theaterkrant, **** “Sincerely and with much vulnerability, she questions sexual role patterns."
2016 Daily Grind House, “A deeply fascinating piece of work from a fearless artist."
2016 Vice, “One of our top5 favourite idfa-films by female directors”
2016 Parool, “One of the most exciting films at the festival”
2016 i:d, “Film you absolutely must see”
Panels / lectures
2024 Interventionist Filmmaking, Academy of Fine Arts Copenhagen
2020 Public discussion with Guardian journalist David Marr, Adelaide
2019 Performing Trauma, Side Step Festival, Helsinki
2019 Ethics of Interventionist Filmmaking, Helsinki Art University
2018 Projection Booth, film podcast on Craigslist Allstars
2018 “Female Gaze” -Reykjavik Arts University
2018 “Intimacy & Violence in a Digital Age” - IPAF, Copenhagen
2018 “Boundaries between art and life, form and theme” - Bit Teatergarasjen, Bergen
2018 “On Trauma & Creativity” - Kaaitheater, Brussels
2018 “Female Gaze” - Finn FilmNapok, Budapest
2017 Teaching workshop on “Digital Desire”, Witten
2017 "Strategies for new kind of stage" - Teaterträffen, Hanko
2017 "Crazy journey with Samira Elagoz around the world of virtual dates" - Docs Against Gravity, Warsaw
2017 "Art of the Real" - Encounters Festival, Cape Town
Publication
2022 “Lovers at Public Execution”, King Kong Magazine, Edition - BODY POLITICS: ON MASCULINITY
2017 Essay ‘What I saw and how I lied’ for a book "Post-Dance" by Mårten Spångberg, Danjel Andersson, Mette Edvardsen
2016 “Stranger Odyssey”, for Belgian art magazine Rektoverso (issue on gender/women in the arts)
Other Useful work experience
Hospital cleaner
Card dealer at a casino
Shot girl at a German nightclub
Waitress at a mall
Subway “sandwich artist”
Fair guide for tech boys
Perfume seller
Cafeteria waitress
Grocery packer
Jewellery and luxury watch seller
High heels salesman
Berry and vegetable seller at the local market