Maria Stanisheva

Maria Stanisheva is a film director/producer and founder of ANIMADOCS, an independent film production house based between Sofia and NYC. A graduate of Sofia University, Central European University and New York Film Academy’s Documentary filmmaking program, she specializes 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 animated campaign “Together to End Male Guardianship” commissioned by Human Rights Watch Saudi Arabia was seen by over 10 million people and resulted in factual legislative change. Maria is currently working on FINDING HOME – an animated documentary series and interactive art installation featuring the personal stories of climate refugees from around the world. The pilot episode from the series was released as an independent short in 2022 and has since been selected at over 20 international film festivals and nominated for the Unifrance Best Short film, awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.