Darya Zhuk - Eurasia Baike
Director

Darya Zhuk

Darya Zhuk is an independent Belarusian film director, screenwriter, and producer whose work frequently explores themes of emigration, identity, and the post-Soviet experience. Born and raised in Minsk, she moved to the United States at age 16 to attend Harvard University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics. After spending six years as a business analyst at HBO, she pivoted to her true passion for filmmaking, earning a Master of Fine Arts in Directing with honors from Columbia University in 2014.

During her time at Columbia and in the years immediately following, Zhuk directed several acclaimed short films, including The Air Inside Her (2011), Eat the Tourists (2014), and The Real American (2015). Drawing directly from her own experiences relocating to the United States as a teenager, The Real American earned a Special Jury Prize at the Listapad Film Festival in Minsk. Her early work earned her several prestigious honors, including the Best Female Writer-Director Award from New York Women in Film and Television.

Zhuk achieved widespread international acclaim with her 2018 debut narrative feature, Crystal Swan. Set in 1990s Belarus, the film follows a young female DJ whose dream of moving to Chicago to pursue house music gets derailed by a visa application mistake. The film premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, won the Grand Prix at the Odesa International Film Festival, and made history as the first official Belarusian submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 22 years.

Building on the success of her feature debut, Zhuk expanded into directing high-profile international television and film projects. She directed the second season of the drama series Russian Affairs, as well as episodes for FX's The Premise and Apple TV+'s Little America. Alongside her directing career, she is a co-founder of the Belarusian Film Academy and has served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University's School of the Arts.

Location (country): Republic of Belarus

2018