Maria Stanisheva

Maria Stanisheva is a film director/producer and founder of ANIMADOCS, an independent film production house based between NYC and Sofia. She is a graduate of Sofia University, Central European University and New York Film Academy’s Documentary filmmaking program and has over 15 years of experience working on feature films, shorts, TV and online series. Maria specialises in social issue documentaries, animation and experimenting with mixed genres. The animated-documentary FATHER which she produced was awarded 28 times, including the Golden Dove for Animated Film at DOK Leipzig Festival. Her 2016 animated campaign “Together to End Male Guardianship” commissioned by Human Rights Watch Saudi Arabia, was seen by over 10 million people and featured in the New York Times and Euronews. She is currently working on FINDING HOME - an animated-documentary series and installation project that reveals climate-related refugee stories from around the world. Maria is a faculty member of the New York Film Academy’s Documentary Department and teaches classes in "Animation for Documentary Film“ in Europe and the USA.