Dmitry Borisenko

Screenwriter, editor and teacher. More than 20 years in film and television: screenplays, editing, creative direction of projects.

Teaches screenwriting, film editing and visual communication at VGIK, the Russian State University of Cinematography, including classes for international students. Leading editor at the VGIK publishing house. Doctoral candidate at VGIK; the dissertation is on screen adaptations of Hamlet.

Lectures

For applicants to the VGIK directing faculty, gave lectures on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Fellini’s Amarcord and the history of film editing. Also lectures on individual films, among them Parasite and Joker.

China

Taught at Chinese universities. Led an introductory course in interior design.

How I teach

Classes run as studio work. At the start I set the goal and the constraints and give reference material: films, screenplays, examples of solutions. Students work on the assignment, I watch the work and discuss the decisions they made, and then students revise. A series of short exercises with interim reviews comes before the final project. Students present the final project in public.

I use the flipped classroom: students come prepared, and class time goes to critique and practice. I use project-based learning: the result of a course is a finished piece of work. Critique takes several forms: one on one, with the whole group, anonymous, as peer feedback, and as a discussion built on questions. After the critique students go back to the work and revise it.

I assess the reasoning and the working process, not only the result. Assessment criteria are announced in advance, and feedback comes before the final grade. With international students I rely on visual demonstrations, because they reduce the language barrier. I adjust the difficulty and pace of assignments to the level of the group. I use AI in teaching and in my own work.

Script doctor

I work with screenplays for sports films, children’s films, melodramas, and stories about family relationships and generations. Credited on IMDb as Mitia Borisenko. The consultation is described on the Script Doctor page.