Maria Pankova

Maria Pankova was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and has been working as a cinematographer since 2018. Due to the war in Ukraine, she temporarily relocated to Scotland and then to the States. With a grant from SDI and Screen Scotland, she created the documentary The Sound of the Wind which premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival, portraying the unyielding struggle of a Ukrainian refugee caught between the chaos of war and the pursuit of peace. In 2021, she worked as a Cinematographer behind the scenes with Sean Penn on the documentary film Superpower, focusing on President Zelenskyy. In 2022, she created the feature documentary Breathing, which tells the personal story of two filmmakers from the early days of the invasion of Ukraine. A few years earlier, she embarked on a feature documentary titled White Elephant, tracking mountain rescuers living in a mountaintop observatory. She was awarded for Excellence in International Filmmaking and Best Editing at the Ouray Film Festival. Maria's compelling films have graced prestigious festivals worldwide, garnering numerous accolades, including multiple awards for Best Documentary Film.