Dubai student Polina Butorina launches debut album and Hollywood movie on same day

OKAY, SO YOU'RE 15 years old and perhaps preparing for your end of term exams right now. It's stressful enough, trying to cram in all that information from the beginning of the year. You probably couldn't imagine voluntarily adding to the pressure. Well, that's not the case for Dubai Raffles International School student, Polina Butorina who has this week also entered the music industry by dropping her debut record, Ocean of Emotions. Oh, by the way, her first feature Hollywood film just came out in her native Russia too. Yep, it's just your average month for a teenager: studying for your tests, releasing an album of personally-penned songs and starring in a movie, Maximum Impact, alongside Danny Trejo, Tom Arnold and Bai Ling, the world premiere of which was held in Moscow over the weekend. We are of course being facetious. Polina's life is anything but ordinary, although the way she calmly and collectedly managed to handle the CD and download launch, the picture's red carpet call and a performance at the premiere, it would appear navigating show business is second nature.
"I'm very excited to finally share my work with the world," Polina said of her album as we spoke at a Moscow pre-premiere press conference for Maximum Impact. "I have been working on this record for two years. There are so many emotions in the songs. I can't wait to hear what people think about it."
Going on to describe the time she was experiencing as one of 'the best weeks of her life,' Polina then divulged what specifically inspired Ocean of Emotions.
"Moving to Dubai two years ago was the biggest influence on this album. It was a whole new world: a new school, new friends and new vibe. Everything happened so fast and, at my age, new emotions came flooding in. I realised I needed to express them somehow.
"I just decided to write: write lyrics and then music to get everything off my chest and to share my point of view with others. I believe sharing helps people. We can all relate to similar feelings and I believe that when people listen to this record they will think, 'I also feel that! I'm not alone in this struggle. She feels the same way!'"
The message Ocean of Emotions is aiming to get across to her fans, Polina said, was that the unifying power of music and her songs in particular will help listeners steer a course through whatever experiences may come their way.
"You get broken and sometimes things don't go the way you wish they went. But this is life. Music links us all together. It gives us hope when we're hopeless. But I'm also here and we can make it."

Work, work, work, work, work
"It's the biggest year for me," Polina said when asked about the balance between school and showbiz. "I'm studying in year 11 so my IGCSEs are soon. It's intense at school, but I don't miss too many days to do things like this. I catch up as soon as I get back." Polina credits her ability to get right back into the swing of coursework to her enjoyment of her favourite subjects: economics, business and French. Though, merely from speaking to the singer/ actress, one can tell there is a work ethic apparent perhaps not witnessed in the majority of young people we come across. Taking her maths exam a year early and passing with flying colours, for example, whilst only 14 and in the middle of writing and recording a full 10-track disc, plus spending your summer on set in LA and Moscow, is no mean feat.
"You can't do anything without working on it hard beforehand. Even if it looks simple, there are hours of preparation behind it to make it look so easy and fun."  Next day's live show of three songs from Polina's album at the Maximum Impact premiere went down a storm. She had worked on the routine for a month.
 "Sometimes it (her showbiz life) looks too good to be true. Then I just go back to reality: school, work, the routine, and I realise it is real. It would only be a dream if it all just happened and you didn't have to do the work to get what you want."  

To sing or act, that is the question?
Polina says it is too early to decide whether to concentrate on just one branch of the arts. At the moment she balances both producing music and playing onscreen characters and that filming the action-comedy Maximum Impact gave her too much joy to consider ditching a life in cinema.
"The film is hilarious," Polina said before telling of us of another special endorsement from an actor who knows a thing or two about the genre.
"We had a screening in America and Arnold Schwarzenegger came to see it. He's an amazing guy. It was an honour to watch the movie with him. He's so positive and nice. His vibe is incredible. It makes sense why everyone respects him. He's an amazing person and he loved the movie."  

So, what's next?
You'd think it'd be too early for Polina to think about what's coming up next in her creative life, but she's already got 2018 mapped out.
"I randomly worked on a song in Russian for the first time. I want to work on that," she said. "I also write a lot of poetry. I think I'd like to release a book of poems. I'm really excited for next year. There are so many projects I need to complete.
"Right now though I want to have this moment and share it with my family. I'm eternally grateful to them for all the support they give me because I know I'm not alone and there are people who have my back. I can't thank them enough."
How would you sum up the album?
"I would say it's about romantic love. The songs are about how I feel and I hope everyone who listens can relate to the music and it can bring us all together."
Final thought: What words do you live by?
"Everything happens for a reason. All the hardships and challenges happen to teach me a lesson. I've learned from experience and that's how life shows me what I need to work on. My poems and my songs are a way for me to get to know myself better. I know I'm the ruler of my life, I'm at the steering wheel and it is my choice what I want to do. Everyone should know, it's your life and you can do whatever you want with it. It's all in your hands."
What can we expect from Maximum Impact?
Scheduled to open in the UAE in the coming months, Polina plays a US politician's granddaughter, Brittany Jacobs, who accompanies him on a diplomatic trip to Russia. Sneaking out to meet her secret pop star crush, she finds herself in the middle of an international incident where the CIA and Russia's FSB are being deceived by dark forces. The movie also stars Alexander Nevsky and is co-produced by Alexander Izotov (pictured on set above with Polina and Danny Trejo).
david@khaleejtimes.com