Natalia Mirzoyan, born in Armenia in 1982, is a graduate of the H. Danielyan Art School and also has a degree in sociology from the University of Yerevan. In addition, she studied graphics at the St. Petersburg Institute for Decorative and Applied Art. She has worked at the Petersburg Animation Studio since 2004, where she participated in directing and animating the children’s series Smeshariki and Kingdom M. In addition to this, Natalia Mirzoyan works as an independent film-maker. Her film Chinti (2012) was screened at the Annecy Animation Film Festival and at the Berlinale. It won the Audience Award at the Fantoche Festival and the Special Jury Prize in Hiroshima. Her most recent film, Five Minutes to Sea (2018), has been screened at around 90 film festivals, including the festival in Annecy in 2019, and honoured with more than 30 awards.