Polina Osen was born in Novosibirsk, Russia, and grew up in the American South. She is an alum of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, the Department of American Studies at Columbia University, and the photojournalism program at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Her narrative fiction filmmaking practice negotiates ethical representation in cinematic depictions of the past. True to her roots, she is most interested in films that reveal something about the post-Soviet and/or American soul.

In the documentary context, she makes observational essay films about grief and can often be found trying to keep her boom pole out of running water. Prior to filmmaking, her last name was Yamshchikov and she was a professional documentary photojournalist and portraitist in NYC, working for such outlets as The New York Times, NPR, and Rolling Stone.