Maya Deren (April 29, 1917 – October 13, 1961), born Eleonora Derenkowska (Ukrainian: Елеоно́ра Деренко́вська), was one of the most important American experimental filmmakers and entrepreneurial promoters of the avant-garde in the 1940s and 1950s. Deren was also a choreographer, dancer, film theorist, poet, lecturer, writer and photographer.
Known For
Meshes of the Afternoon
(1943)
Director
Full Filmography
Directing
Meshes of the Afternoon
(1943)
Director
At Land
(1944)
Director
Witch's Cradle
(1944)
Director
A Study in Choreography for Camera
(1945)
Director
Ritual in Transfigured Time
(1946)
Director
The Private Life of a Cat
(1946)
Director
Meditation on Violence
(1949)
Director
Medusa
(1949)
Director
Ensemble for Somnambulists
(1951)
Director
The Very Eye of Night
(1958)
Director
Season of Strangers
(1959)
Director
Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti
(1993)
Director
Maya Deren - Experimental Films
(2002)
Director
Cinema16: American Short Films
(2006)
Director
Acting
Meshes of the Afternoon
(1943)
The Woman
At Land
(1944)
Ritual in Transfigured Time
(1946)
The Private Life of a Cat
(1946)
Narrator
Invocation: Maya Deren
(1986)
Herself (archive footage)
In the Mirror of Maya Deren
(2002)
Herself
Maya Deren - Experimental Films
(2002)
Maya Deren, Take Zero
(2012)
Herself
Editing
Meshes of the Afternoon
(1943)
Editor
The Very Eye of Night
(1958)
Editor
Maya Deren - Experimental Films
(2002)
Editor
Writing
Meshes of the Afternoon
(1943)
Writer
At Land
(1944)
Writer
Meditation on Violence
(1949)
Writer
Ensemble for Somnambulists
(1951)
Writer
The Very Eye of Night
(1958)
Writer
Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti
(1993)
Book
Maya Deren - Experimental Films
(2002)
Writer
Vever (For Barbara)
(2023)
Writer
Alter Ego Film Project
(2024)
Original Film Writer
Production
Crew
Meditation on Violence
(1949)
Cinematography
The Very Eye of Night
(1958)
Cinematography
Maya Deren - Experimental Films
(2002)
Cinematography
Camera
Sound