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Maya Deren
Life Time
29 April 1917 - 13 October 1961
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Eleanor Derenkovskaya, better known in the field of cinema as Maya Deren, was born on April 29, 1917 in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Her father, psychiatrist Solomon-David Derenkowski, and mother actress Maria Fiedler were named after actress Eleanor Douse. But later, in 1943, she took the pseudonym Maya Deren. In 1922, Maya moved with her family to the United States, where she studied in Syracuse, New York. During her studies, she was a member of the youth circles of Trotsky, whom her father sympathized
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Eleanor Derenkovskaya, better known in the field of cinema as Maya Deren, was born on April 29, 1917 in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Her father, psychiatrist Solomon-David Derenkowski, and mother actress Maria Fiedler were named after actress Eleanor Douse. But later, in 1943, she took the pseudonym Maya Deren.
In 1922, Maya moved with her family to the United States, where she studied in Syracuse, New York. During her studies, she was a member of the youth circles of Trotsky, whom her father sympathized with. In the early 1940s, Maya communicated with the outstanding choreographer and ballerina Catherine Dunham, for whom she worked as a secretary. At the same time, she started shooting short films. Her first work was the silent tape “Midnets” (1943).
Between 1943 and 1947, Maya Deren directed five short films with a distinct genre and style. Film critics note that her works are “poetic psychodramas”, “cinema trance”, which have no plot and introduce the viewer into a hypnotic state. Deren skillfully handled light and shadows, mirrors and enfilades, changing optical angles and adjusting a clear unified rhythm of action. Often, Maya Deren in her films starred herself and invited her friends to participate. In 1947, she won the International Prize for Experimental Film at Cannes for her short films. Since then, she has only released two films, including:
Reflection on violence” (1948) and The Persistent Look of the Night (1958). The creative flight of these films largely anticipated and gave impetus to the development of cinema in the style of the American underground.
Maya Deren died on October 13, 1961 from a brain hemorrhage. Doctors have linked the death to the detrimental effects of amphetamines that Maya consumed for more than two decades. After her death, the American Institute established the Maya Deren Award (1986). /