Arina came to us with a dual background — first with an architectural background, and then she moved on to animation. She wanted to enroll in a master’s program in animation, but her path to achieving that goal was complicated by numerous TOEFL retakes — she only managed to get a score of 96 on her sixth attempt.
By the time she started working, Arina had a solid foundation in two areas at once.
Architectural experience:
Transition to Animation:
Awards and festivals: winner of Best Animated Debut at the American‑Georgian Animation Film Festival for the film “Striped Tale”, Official Selection at Insomnia Festival 2025 and Skeleton Keyframe Animation Awards 2024 for the film TIRED, participation in the quarterfinals of the Serbest International Film Festival, screenings at the “Window to Europe” and “Zero Plus” festivals.
The main task was to explain the dual background in the application — to show how architectural education at MARHI and experience working with space, composition, and visualization naturally led Arina to animation, rather than making it seem like a random career turn. The architectural article about “Architecture in Cinema” and the analysis of space in Kubrick’s works became a bridge between the two disciplines — the architect’s visual thinking found application in framing and space in animation.
Since the GRE was not required for a creative field, the main focus was on the portfolio, documents, and a compelling narrative about the transition between the two professions.
Arina received offers from 3 universities in the USA:
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