Maria Pankova
Award-winning Ukrainian cinematographer honored for Excellence in International Filmmaking.
Her lens has captured actors such as Sean Penn and Denis Lavant.
Experienced documentary cinematographer skilled in high-stakes storytelling, adept at navigating diverse terrains, including war zones. Renowned for collaborative prowess under pressure and offering a unique narrative flair with meticulous precision.
In 2023, she created a documentary film The Sound of The Wind with support from Screen Scotland and SDI, portraying the unyielding struggle of a Ukrainian refugee caught between the chaos of war and the pursuit of peace. The film premiered at the Edinburgh IFF.
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 began work on the feature-length documentary "White Elephant," about mountain rescuers living in a mountaintop observatory.