ABOUT
ROXY TOPOROWYCH

Roxy Toporowych is an award-winning writer/ director focused on telling authentic, slice of life stories, where everyday people do extraordinary things, with a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek approach. Her work often weaves colorful characters with world events and tackles themes of identity, culture and community.  

Her narrative feature debut, JULIA BLUE, a love story between an aspiring photojournalist and a soldier haunted by war, was produced internationally, while she was a Fulbright Scholar living in Kyiv, Ukraine. She won the Special Jury Prize for Best Director World Cinema at the Woodstock Film Festival and the Best Director Award at the Sonoma International Film Festival.  Julia Blue was a part of Rooftop Films Works in Progress Screenings and Seattle Film Festival Work in Progress Labs.  In 2022, JULIA BLUE was named one of the top ten films about Ukraine by The Guardian UK.  

Previously, Roxy directed the dance documentary feature, FOLK! (HotDocs/East SilverMarkets) and the comedy web series 2ND AND 9TH. Additionally, she created the show Awkward Dance Party for the  Tribeca Film Festival and was a finalist for SeriesFest and Almanack Writers Labs for her comedy series, COMMIE PARTY! She has served as a producer on documentaries for HULU, HBO and Tribeca Enterprises, and often draws on her documentary background for her fly-on-the-wall cinematic approach.

Roxy, a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, started her career in set decoration. Credits include: Captain America: Winter Soldier and West Side Story.  She is an IFP Narrative Lab Directing Fellow, Women in Film grant recipient, the winner of the IFP/Gotham Award for Emerging Directors, and a current fellow in the AFI DWW+ Class of 2024.