Maya Deren

Maya Deren (1917–1961) is the stage name of Eleonora Solomonovna Derenkovskaya, a leading Ukrainian film director, theorist, writer, dancer and photographer born in Kyiv. In 1922, due to the political tensions arising from the Russian Revolution, Maya and her parents moved to the United States, settling in Syracuse, New York. An extremely diligent student, she completed her secondary education at an international school in Geneva and, at the age of 16, enrolled at Syracuse University. At the age of 18, she married Gregory Bardacke, and the couple decided to move to New York, where Maya completed a BA in literature.

Her career in experimental cinema truly began in 1943, the year in which she directed and starred in the short film Meshes of the Afternoon alongside her second husband, Alexander Hammid. Although she completed only six short films throughout her career, Maya Deren’s work is recognised as a major influence on the American avant-garde movement. Her films explore a variety of themes, such as the unconscious, poetic symbolism, the art of dance and Haitian voodoo, a country she visited on several occasions. In 1949, after winning the Prix International for avant-garde film at Cannes, Maya Deren took part in EXPRMNTL 1 in Knokke. She would go on to compete at the festival again in the following edition, held in 1958.

As well as being a filmmaker, Deren devoted part of her time to teaching and writing about avant-garde cinema. Her gift for inspiring new artists led her, in 1953, to set up the Creative Film Foundation, an organisation dedicated to providing financial support to independent filmmakers.