Born in 1917 Ukraine as Eleanora Derenkowsky, Maya Deren was a director who produced work during the 1940's and 1950's, her work is fundamentally associated with the term "Avant-Garde", which is a cutting edge, experimental way to develop ideas. In addition to her role as a film director, Deren was also a choreographer, writer, photographer, dancer and poet. There is a recognisable anti-mainstream stance within her films, making her work extraordinarily different and memorable as opposed to other short subjects exhibited throughout that period. Deren promotes the idea of artistic license and creative freedom through her work, believing that the way to experiment with new editing and film techniques is through creating short films.
Deren progressed through the 1940’s to receive various recognitions and awards, her most famous being the Grand Prix Internationale 16mm experimental film award at the Cannes Film Festival for “Meshes of the Afternoon”. Contrary to popular belief, Deren distributed all her own films and promoted them through lectures and screenings in the United States, also writing, directing, editing and starring in her own productions
Being infamous and recognised for her Avant Garde films, Deren heavily criticized the stereotypical Hollywood cinema stating, “I make my pictures for what Hollywood spends on lipstick”. Also believing that Hollywood “has been a major obstacle to the definition and development of motion pictures as a creative fine-art form”, setting her at an extreme distance from mainstream practices.
Maya Deren sadly passed away in 1961 at the age of 44, her work was noted as a key figure in the establishment of a New American Cinema which accentuated personal, Avant Garde, underground film making. The American Film Institute went on to create the Maya Deren Award to accredit independent filmmakers.
“The task of cinema or any other art form is not to translate hidden messages of the unconscious soul into art but to experiment with the effects contemporary technical devices have on nerves, minds, or souls.” - Maya Deren
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