Zaklina Stojcevska was born in Macedonia and raised in Bærum, Norway. She belonged to the first cohort to graduate from the Film School in Lillehammer with graduation in 2000. She received an Amanda award for her work on Sara Johnsen's directorial debut Upperdog (2009), and the following year she became the first person to receive the Edith Carlmar Award for her "ability to put her own stamp on the film's rhythm, pulse, details, connections and narratives".