Darya Zhuk

Darya Zhuk was born in Minsk, Belarus. She discovered filmmaking while studying Economics at Harvard University and later earned an MFA degree with honors from Columbia University in 2014.

Most recently she wrote & directed an original episode of Little America for Apple TV+ based on her own immigration experience to the United States.

She directed and EP’d the first four episodes (including the pilot) of an original series for Netflix Russia called Zato, as well as an episode of The Premise for FX—an anthology series created by BJ Novak. Darya also directed the entire second season (8 episodes) of a popular Russian series currently streaming on Amazon Europe as Russian Affairs.

Her debut feature film Crystal Swan was Belarus’s first entry into the Academy Awards Best Foreign Language category in 22 years. Crystal Swan opened the prestigious Karlovy Vary “East of the West” competition, later winning Grand Prix at the Odessa Film Festival, Grand Prix at the Almaty International Film Festival, Grand Prix at the Tbilisi International Film Festival, FIPRESCI at the Bratislava IFF, Youth Jury Award at the Cork Film Festival. and many others. The film also won a Nika, the Russian Academy Award.

She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Guy Cimbalo.