Serhiy Bordenyuk

Corresponding Member of the NAA of Ukraine

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Serhiy Bordenyuk

    born in 1962

Cinematographer, Educator

    Corresponding Member of the NAA of Ukraine (2025)

    Recipient of the Silver Medal of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine (2012)

    Recipient of the Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (2010) 

    Honored Artist of Ukraine (2003)

    People’s Artist of Ukraine (2007)

    Associate Professor (2023) 

Serhiy Bordenyuk was born on April 26, 1962, in Chernivtsi. In 1985, he graduated with honors from the Kyiv National Ivan Karpovych Karpenko-Karyi Theatre, Cinema and Television University (O. Prokopenko’s workshop), specializing in cinematography.
Bordenyuk’s professional career as a cinematographer began with filming the aftermath of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster. He earned the status of “Chernobyl Disaster Liquidator.” In the immediate days following the tragedy, as a military cameraman (serving his mandatory military service at the time), he had access to the most dangerous areas of the plant. He filmed the destroyed Reactor 4 from an exceptionally low angle from an open helicopter. His footage is unique; declassified images were widely circulated worldwide and were used in James Jones’ documentary Lost Tapes (2022, HBO).
After his first feature film, Love Conquers All (1987, dir. Mykola Mashchenko), Serhiy Bordenyuk spent 30 consecutive years working at the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio. His body of work includes over 60 feature and documentary films, among the most recent being the feature film Exchange, which was nominated for the Oleksandr Dovzhenko State Prize, and the documentary One Universe Is Not Enough: Ivan Marchuk.
During his 30-year tenure at the Dovzhenko Film Studio as a cinematographer, Bordenyuk collaborated with some of Ukraine’s most renowned directors and created feature films that received awards at both national and international film festivals. Notable works include: Love Conquers All (1987, dir. M. Mashchenko) — Gold Prize at the Toronto Ukrainian Film Festival (Canada, 1989); Enter Every Home (1990, dir. V. Illyashenko); Captain Crocus (1991, dir. V. Onishchenko); Two Steps to Silence (1991, dir. Y. Tupitsky); The Promise (1992, dir. V. Illyashenko); Marriage with Death (1992, dir. M. Mashchenko); We Will Live (1995, dir. D. Tomashpolsky); Tomorrow Will Be Tomorrow (2003, dir. O. Demyanenko); Bohdan-Zynoviy Khmelnytsky (2006, dir. M. Mashchenko).For his work on the documentary project SHOAH Visual History Foundation (1996–1998), Serhiy Bordenyuk received a Certificate of Recognition from American film director Steven Spielberg.
Serhiy Bordenyuk shares his knowledge and professional expertise with the younger generation, teaching cinematography and serving as Professor and Head of the Department of Cinematography and Photographic Art at the National University of Culture and Arts. He actively develops modern educational programs in specialized disciplines and has authored scholarly works. His students have become laureates of international competitions and festivals both in Ukraine and abroad.
He is the Chair of the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine (NUCU). Since 2009, he has been a member of the NUCU Board and has repeatedly been elected its Secretary. He also chairs the Committee for the Oleksandr Dovzhenko State Prize of Ukraine and heads the Organizing Committee for the Ivan Mykolaichuk "Kyiv" Art Award in the field of cinema. Since 2024, he has served on the Supervisory Board of the Kyiv National Ivan Karpovych Karpenko-Karyi Theatre, Cinema and Television University. Since 2008, he has been a member of IMAGO — the European Federation of Cinematographers — as well as a member of the Expert Council of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and a board member of the Ukrainian Film Academy.Bordenyuk has been honored with the Certificate of Appreciation from the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for his significant personal contribution to the development of national cinema and awarded the "Chernobyl Cross" Order. He has also received a Letter of Appreciation from the Kyiv City Mayor, been nominated for the Teletriumph Award for Best Cinematographer (2015, 2016, 2017), named among the "Top 5 Best Cinematographers of Ukraine" in 2019 by the professional jury of Filmed in Ukraine, and nominated for both the Oleksandr Dovzhenko State Prize and the Ivan Mykolaichuk "Kyiv" Art Award.