Born in a Siberian city Novosibirsk, Oxana Holtmann got her B.A. form her hometown university, and her Masters in Chinese studies from The Moscow State University. She worked for several years as an English language instructor and interpreter, in particular at numerous workshops led by American and English psychotherapists. After Perestroika, she worked as an interpreter for what later became one of the biggest microfinance programs in Russia. In 2002-2003 her family moved first to Germany and then to Washington, DC.
Oxana made the transition from language to film in fall 2005 when she took a Sony PD170 to East Africa to videotape the story of the fastest growing microfinance bank in Kenya. Several of her subsequent African projects were produced in close cooperation with MicroSave, Kenya.
Oxana is a member of Women in Film and Video of Washington, DC; Television, Internet and Video Association of DC, and The DC Podcaster Alliance.
