Anna Shapiro is a film and video director and editor working across documentary, fiction, and video art. Born into a family of artists in Moscow, she studied Film and Theater Studies at the Russian State University for the Humanities and continued her education at the Higher Courses for Directors and Screenwriters (workshop of Petr Todorovsky and Natalia Ryazantseva) and the School of Visual Arts in New York.
Over the past two decades, Anna has directed and edited documentaries, short fiction films, and experimental video art, as well as hundreds of trailers and promotional films for major TV channels, museums, and cultural events. She worked as a promo director and editor for Channel One Russia, where she created campaigns for projects such as The Voice, Late Night Urgant Show, and the Olympic Games, receiving multiple industry awards including the Promax Award for Best Editing and Media Brand Award for Best Promo.
Her documentary works include Bieskheim and Stay in My Shoes, as well as art films and installations for institutions like The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, and Art Focus Now. Among her documentary projects is The Place You Know (developed with the Gulag Museum), which explored the memory of Stalin’s victims; production was suspended after the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
As a fiction filmmaker and screenwriter, Anna co-wrote and developed Downward Spiral — a feature film project shortlisted for the Sundance Writing Lab 2016. Although the film was not realized, the project was noted for its strong concept and authorial vision. She also directed short fiction films such as Derailed (based on Stephen King’s “Willa”, winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Amur Autumn Film Festival, Second Award at the Baby Dollar Film competition, Merit of Excellence, Depth of Field Festival, USA; nominee at Chicago Blow-Up Film Festival, ROSCon, and Sv. Anna Film Festival), Applause, and Matches.
In 2024-2025, Anna worked as the lead editor on When I Get Jailed, a documentary selected for IDFA Frontlight 2025, and as one of the editors of Anastasiia Vedenskaya’s What’s Up, Extremists, which tells the story of LGBTQ+ people fleeing Russia after the “extremism” law was passed.
Her video art has been exhibited at major art venues, including the Erarta Museum of Modern Art, Fabrika Art Center, and the Rostov Museum of Modern Art.
Anna’s current projects focus on blending documentary and philosophical narratives with experimental visual forms. She is fluent in English, continues studying French, and lives and works in Belgium.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
When I Get Jailed — Lead Editor, documentary, Belgium-France, 2025, IDFA Frontlight 2025
What’s Up, Extremists — Editor, documentary, Belgium-France, 2024
The Place You Know — Director, documentary project with Gulag Museum (production suspended after 2022)Bieskheim — Director, documentary, Russia–Belarus, 2022
Stay in My Shoes — Director, social film-experiment, 2021
From Dürer to Matisse — Director, documentary for Pushkin Museum, 2020
Applause — Director, short fiction, Spain–Russia, 2019
Matches — Director, short fiction, 2019
Grande Portrait — Video art, Erarta Museum of Modern Art, 2019
Downward Spiral — Co-writer and Director, feature film project, shortlisted for Sundance Writing Lab 2016 (not produced)
Derailed — Director/Writer, short fiction, 2015
— Special Jury Prize, Amur Autumn Film Festival, Russia
— Second Award, Baby Dollar Film Competition (Stephen King stories), Russia
— Merit of Excellence, Depth of Field Festival, USA
— Nominee, Chicago Blow-Up Film Festival 2015, ROSCon 2016, S. Anna 2016
What’s Up, Extremists — Editor, documentary, Belgium-France, 2024
The Place You Know — Director, documentary project with Gulag Museum (production suspended after 2022)Bieskheim — Director, documentary, Russia–Belarus, 2022
Stay in My Shoes — Director, social film-experiment, 2021
From Dürer to Matisse — Director, documentary for Pushkin Museum, 2020
Applause — Director, short fiction, Spain–Russia, 2019
Matches — Director, short fiction, 2019
Grande Portrait — Video art, Erarta Museum of Modern Art, 2019
Downward Spiral — Co-writer and Director, feature film project, shortlisted for Sundance Writing Lab 2016 (not produced)
Derailed — Director/Writer, short fiction, 2015
— Special Jury Prize, Amur Autumn Film Festival, Russia
— Second Award, Baby Dollar Film Competition (Stephen King stories), Russia
— Merit of Excellence, Depth of Field Festival, USA
— Nominee, Chicago Blow-Up Film Festival 2015, ROSCon 2016, S. Anna 2016