His father was the 60-year-old chief physician of this institution, and his mother was a madly in love 20-year-old student. During his school years Ivan did not stand out in any particular way among his peers - he was an ordinary child. But after finishing his studies, Okhlobystin, confident that his cause was just, entered VGIK. There he was known as a student with unconventional thinking and was very popular both among his fellow students and among the teachers. After serving in the army (he served in the rocket forces in Rostov-on-Don), the student Okhlobystin was reinstated at VGIK and plunged fully into public work. Within a short time he was even elected secretary of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR.

His acting debut was the film The Leg - and immediately he received a prize for best role at the festival Youth-91. Okhlobystin's very first screenplay for the film Freak received a nomination for the prestigious Green Apple, Golden Leaf. Ivan's first directing work, The Arbiter, received the Kinotavr award in the category Films for the Chosen... Subsequently all kinds of statuettes and diplomas rained down abundantly on the young talent. Theater did not escape Ivan's attention either. He also proved excellent as a theater actor.