Director Gaia-Germanica - a grandmother at 41, how she got there 0 21

Life taught Valeria Gai Germanika to be a strong woman — to command on set, to feed a large family. She has two divorces behind her. Her first husband turned out to be a bigamist, and she has remained silent about the father of her firstborn for many years.

Valeria-Gaia Alexandrovna Germanika (born Valeria Igorevna Dudinskaya) was born on March 1, 1984, in Moscow. Her father, journalist Igor Dudinsky, was married 13 times. Her mother is Natalia Dudinskaya. Dudinsky began to consider himself Valeria's father only after a DNA test was conducted at the initiative of her mother Natalia. Valeria's name was chosen by her grandmother in honor of the heroine Valeria from the novel by Raffaello Giovagnoli "Spartacus." Later, she changed her name to Valeria Gai, her surname to Germanika, and her patronymic to Alexandrovna (after her stepfather).

Her parents separated when she was one year old. Her father did not support his ex-wife and daughter at all. She has loved dogs since childhood. At 13, she started working as a specialist who showcases dogs at exhibitions. "I just adore dogs. The first one appeared when I was about 11. At 12-13, I decided that I would work with dogs: I finished courses, worked at exhibitions, trained dogs, and groomed them. I enrolled in the Timiryazev Academy. Then I went into cinema... But animals are an integral part of my life," the artist shared.

She had a difficult adolescence. She admitted that the environment in which she grew up had a strong influence on her. "If you live and grow up in Strogino, seeing neighbors drinking and recidivists around. We drank from the age of 14. I really don’t understand this now. I recently remembered: how can you be an alcoholic at 14, I don’t understand. It was considered normal," the director confessed. Valeria also noted that she enjoyed reading books since childhood.

She studied for five years at the Rudolf Steiner Lyceum, after which she decided to transfer to a regular school, which she dropped out of before finishing. She felt that the institution suppressed her individuality. She does not have a higher education. "I studied everywhere, in various paid institutions, then I drank away the money and went to where it was cheaper — to directing," she shared. She completed a six-month directing course and briefly worked as a camerawoman at a porn studio because "I wanted to be like Tinto Brass." Germanika thought about getting closer to religion since her teenage years. "I always wanted to live forever. I was looking for ways to achieve this. I went to church. I lived in Strogino, and it was difficult to just walk into a church. When I moved to the center, I already had dreadlocks, and the first place I went was the High-Petrovsky Monastery on Petrovka. And immediately a monk approached me and said, 'Welcome!' So, apparently, the time had come. They started to accept me," Valeria recounted.

Valeria Gai Germanika shot documentaries until 2008. Since 2008, she began making feature films.

The feature film "Everyone Will Die, But I Will Remain" was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008. In 2009, the film received a Nika Award.

In early 2010, the 69-episode television series "School" was released, causing a wide public resonance. "Art should provoke, touch the soul. If a film generates debates, evokes polar opinions, it means people are watching it, it means it resonates with them. That’s great! In this sense, I was very lucky! Although, listening to the debates, it can be a bit hurtful. It’s hurtful when they say that there is no artistic value in this work, or when they just resort to rudeness and insults. Well, what girl would feel good when called a stupid, cross-eyed, brainless freak?! But that’s a human reaction, not a director's one... My film is not about school at all! I make films about human relationships, about the loss of dialogue between generations. The school, in this case, is nothing more than decorations, walls. For me, it is important to be authentic and relevant only in one thing — in the psychology of human relationships. And in this sense, I take responsibility for what I do," Valeria said about the film.

In early 2012, the 16-episode film "A Brief Course in a Happy Life" was released.

In 2022, the first season of the series "Mutual Consent" was released, and in 2024, the second season.

Valeria Gai Germanika gave birth to her daughter Octavia on March 13, 2008. She was not married to the girl's father. The young man disappeared as soon as he learned about his girlfriend's pregnancy. "I thought it was terrible when my first dog died. Or when I was left at five weeks pregnant. I then started filming 'Everyone Will Die, But I Will Remain' and was completely alone. But now I understand that there was nothing terrible about it. But these two things struck me," the director spoke about the difficult period.

After breaking up with Octavia's father, she was alone for three years until she met Gleb Samoylov. She invited the artist on a date to a restaurant and suggested that he shoot a music video. He disappeared for a month. Valeria found him, Gleb invited her over, and then, after getting drunk, confessed his love. Soon the artist moved in with Samoylov, leaving her two-year-old daughter with her mother. Germanika admitted that she had never fallen in love like that, lived for Gleb's interests, and did not shoot anything. Valeria furnished his apartment, hired a housekeeper, and showered her beloved with gifts. The director paid for her beloved's treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction. "While I was with Gleb, I lost not only my business, money, but also the trust of the people I had previously collaborated with. It was very difficult. But then people returned to me, saw that I really wanted to work and was ready to direct all my energy in the right direction. Unrequited love is fuel for a director. Directors do not become directors from a good life. And I felt how these sufferings benefited me. Even my parents said that at that moment I started making very serious decisions," she confessed.

On July 11, 2015, she married dancer Vadim Lyubushkin. At that time, he was married. Germanika knew before the wedding that Lyubushkin was not free, but did not wait for the end of his divorce process and got married. "I found out this information at the very last moment before our wedding. It was unpleasant, of course, but I closed my eyes to it, as I closed my eyes to many things later. I thought that these were trials we had to go through together with Vadim. In reality, it turned out that these were windmills, and it could not lead to the well-being of the family because it was already obvious that we were not made for each other... In the four months of our life together, I played this movie back and forth several times. I now understand that I am a fool, an idiot. I took a miserable person who has no difference — whether to marry or divorce, and here for, and there for. He is indifferent to everything. He has a psychology as if he is going to live forever. People do not think that their life can end, especially at the most unpleasant moment, and that they will have to answer for their actions," she recounted. Four months after the wedding, they divorced. At that time, the director was pregnant. "I was unhappy in the marriage from the very beginning. I paid for the wedding myself, and it did not bother the groom at all. He had nowhere to live in Moscow, and we had to get married immediately so as not to live out of wedlock, because that is unacceptable for me. And in general, I was sure that true love comes already in marriage, with worries, various joint trials. It was just in the process of family life that I realized that we had too different goals. I am still a girl not for a young guy who sees family as endless entertainment, travel, and everything else," Valeria said. On April 22, 2016, she gave birth to a daughter, Severina, from the dancer.

On February 26, 2019, she married businessman Denis Molchanov from Novokuznetsk. In November 2019, they had a son, August. Denis adopted Octavia and Severina. "He saw my interview with Yulia Menshova and wanted to meet. When I met him for the first time, I immediately understood that we would live together for the rest of our lives. He is a hero to me just because he knew about my children and was willing to provide for the girls, take care of them... The girls call him dad," the star said earlier. In 2023, the director's marriage fell apart. The main reason for the breakup, Gai Germanika cited the lack of support from her husband after her father's death. "I had a phase of mourning and reflection... I did not feel that there was support, and I needed support from Denis. But it was a serious blow for me... I experienced my father's death just terribly, awfully. I still have a wild attachment to my father... We lived together until the last moment. He died in my arms, my sister's, and Octavia's. Doctors came to me, I was given IVs, sedatives, it was hard for me. I was filming 'Mutual Consent 2,' which was dedicated to domestic violence, disgusting behavior..." she explained.

Now the woman is alone. The movie star is ready for a new meeting, but the man must meet her high standards. "My mother did not teach me how to communicate with men, did not explain what family life is. My parents did not tell me anything at all. I only read novels like 'Resurrection' by Tolstoy, 'The Insulted and Injured' by Dostoevsky, and other classics. With this knowledge, I went out into the world. Then I learned from my mistakes, spent a huge number of years. I deeply regret it," Gai Germanika laments.

In 2025, her eldest daughter Octavia will get married, and Valeria Gai Germanika will become a grandmother at 41. "I believe that there should always be an infant in the family. It’s a constant spring, it brings people together. Some good work — raising infants, it’s self-discipline. And I always need some action because I am a person who can start to decay from idleness. I constantly need to be in some work — giving birth to children, raising them, working. I have a very busy life right now," Gai Germanika admitted.

Now the director continues to work actively, providing for her large family.