ABOUT

ANIMADOCS is an independent film production house that specializes in animation, documentary and everything in-between. 

ANIMADOCS was founded by Maria Stanisheva in 2016 who got hooked on animation nine years earlier when she produced the Media and Diversity campaign while working for the British Council in Bulgaria. After the local campaign ended up being used in 30+ countries worldwide, Maria realised the power of animation for creating social change. She then co-founded Compote Collective and produced FATHER, an animated-documentary featured in over 120 film festivals, awarded 28 times, including the Golden Dove for Animated Film at DOK Leipzig Film Fest. In the past 15 years, she directed and produced over 50 diverse short and long-form films, including social issue documentaries, independent animation and mixed genre experiments. Maria is a Berlinale Talent 2016 and 2019 (Talents Short Film Station participant), EU MEDIA Creative Europe, Eurimages and Bulgarian National Film Centre expert evaluator, and was awarded with the prestigious New York State Council of the Arts / New York Foundation for the Arts Artistic Fellow in the Video/Film category in 2024. Graduate of Sofia University (BA Political Science), Central European University (MA Political Science and Economics) and New York Film Academy’s Documentary Filmmaking program (Conservatory). Currently a faculty member of the New York Film Academy, she teaches masterclasses in “Animation for Documentary Film” in Europe and the US.

ANIMADOCS creates a diverse variety of media content: story-driven feature films, TV and online series, independent and commissioned shorts, educational videos, viral human rights campaigns, installation art, visual storytelling for live events and more. Our expertise spans across all stages of animation and documentary production to deliver powerful and visually-unique content within tight deadlines and competitive prices.

ANIMADOCS collaborates with a network of renown directors, producers, cinematographers, designers, illustrators, animators, composers,  writers and editors based in diverse locations around the world. This allows us to put together the perfect team for each individual production. We are based between Sofia, New York City and Bordeaux.

Our animated-docs have been seen by over 20 million people and featured in the New York Times, the Independent, Euronews and more. Waves of social change, created by our work for Human Rights Watch in Saudi Arabia have been featured on CNN and BBC.

Enough talking. Have a look at some of our projects and if you like what you see – give us a shout. Let’s tell a story together!