ANKA MALATYNSKA – CINEMATOGRAPHER

 

Director of Photography on four episodes of Monsterland, premiering October 2 on Hulu.

 

 “Anka’s cinematography on the first season of Monsterland was nothing short of visual poetry”

                     — Mary Laws, showrunner Monsterland

​

 

September 22, 2020 — Named as one of the “10 Rising Stars of Cinematography 2019” in American Cinematographer Magazine, Anka Malatynska is back in the spotlight with the October 2 premiere of  Hulu’s highly anticipated new anthology horror series MONSTERLAND.

 

Anka shot four episodes of season one of Monsterland including the season finale directed by Babak Anvari (Wounds, Under the Shadow). Based on the collection of short stories from  North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud, Monsterland explores mythical monsters as a metaphor for the problems faced by the modern world. Encounters with mermaids, fallen angels, and other strange beasts drive broken people to desperate acts in the eight-episode one-hour anthology series.

 

The series is produced by Annapurna Television. Series creator, writer and executive producer is Mary Laws (Succession, Preacher); executive producers also include Anvari, Megan Ellison (Bombshell, Hustlers, Booksmart) Sue Naegle (The Plot Against America, Soundtrack) and Lucan Toh (Wounds, Under The Shadow). Other directors include Desiree Akhavan (The Miseducation of Cameron Post), Logan Kibens (The L Word: Generation Q, Snowfall) and Craig William Macneill (Lizzie, The Boy). Writers are Aalia Brown and Emily Kaczmarek. Actors include Kaitlyn Dever, Jonathan Tucker, Charlie Tahan, Nicole Beharie, Hamish Linklater, Marquis Rodriguez, Bill Camp, Michael Hsu Rosen, Taylor Schilling, Roberta Colindrez, Adria Arjona, Trieu Tran, Kelly Marie Tran, Mike Colter and Adepero Oduye. 

 

Anka can be seen talking about her work on Monsterland on the upcoming PaleyFest Fall TV Preview weekend (October 2, 3 and 4), discussing the series and particularly epidode 7 titled “Iron River, MI” in a panel with Mary Laws, Desiree Akhavan and Kelly Marie Tran.

 

The look of Monsterland has been inspired by the brooding dreamlike photography of Todd Hido and Gregory Crewdson. Anka says, “Monsterland is one of those rare and pivotal opportunities to create true art and exercise my creativity within the television spectrum.  The show is truly a cinematographer’s dream.” Anka’s stunning images tell heartbreaking stories in a breathless, poetic way – inviting what show runner Mary Laws  calls “leaning  into the monster… creating a world where terror and human darkness draw us in to be exposed through seamless cinematic story telling.”

​

 

Truly a director’s cinematographer, Anka listens to her collaborators with deep heart and intent, resulting in powerful friendships and collaborations. Throughout production Anka was deluged with praise from the key creatives. Showrunner Mary Laws says, “Anka’s cinematography on the first season of Monsterland was nothing short of visual poetry, elevating the narratives of marginalized people into majestic works of art. Her work is innovative and unapologetically daring, and like a true visionary, she is endlessly on the hunt for new ways to utilize the tools of the trade which she has already mastered.”

 

Other creatives on Monsterland have been effusive in their praise. Writer Emily Kaczmarek says, “Anka is a straight-up genius. She’s shot things for Monsterland that I’ve never seen on screen before – truly wild, inventive, gorgeously moving visuals. She is a dream collaborator, a whip-smart storyteller and a brilliant artist.” Actor Michael Colter, who stars in the season finale, says, “I have never been so impressed by a DP. Anka is a real artist; she makes it look effortless with a great bedside manner.”

 

Anka shot her episodes of Monsterland with the Sony Venice on 2:1 aspect ratio with Leica Simmilux Prime lenses and Angenieux Rouge zooms on two cameras.

 

Anka’s most recent feature film BREAKING FAST premiered at Cinequest in early 2020 and has been screening throughout the year on the virtual film festival circuit internationally. Throug the fall is is screening at indie and LGBTQ festivals in the US and Canada. Directed by Mike Mosallam and produced by Seth Hauer, the film tells the story of a practicing Muslim living in West Hollywood, navigating life post-heartbreak, and the all-American guy Kal, who offers to break the fast with him during the holy month of Ramadan, the two fall in love through an exploration of their commonalities and their differences.

 

“The subject matter is provocative and timely,” says Anka. “It challenges ideas and stereotypes of Islam and the Muslim American experience. The cinematography is a gorgeous portrait of West Hollywood life.” Anka shot Breaking Fast on the RED Weapon 8K camera with Panavision Primos, with a specialized lens treatment in collaboration with Panavision’s lens team. 

 

Anka actively mentors future cinematographers worldwide. Just prior to starting the shoot for Monsterland, Anka was serving as Visiting Professor of Cinematography at Northwestern University in Qatar and before that she taught at Northern Arizona University. Anka was herself educated and mentored by legendary cinematographers László Kovács (Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces) and Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Deer Hunter), who instilled in her the importance of educating and bringing up the next generation of world filmmakers. Anka notes that the look of the Monsterland season finale is in fact inspired by Close Encounters. 

 

Ever the willing student as well as a teacher, Anka was one of eight emerging female cinematographers selected to participate in the inaugural 21st Century Fox/American Film Institute sponsored Fox DP Lab in late 2018 before embarking on the shoot for Breaking Fast.

 

In 2019 Anka collaborated with director Gabriella Tolman on the short film Lovely, which was awarded Best Cinematography at the Under The Stars International Film Festival in Bari, Italy. Her previous credits as cinematographer, 2nd unit DP and camera operator have ranged from Claire Niederpruem’s intimate 2018 adaptation of Little Women to National Geographic's Most Amazing Photos television series, Walden Media's Dear Dumb Diary to Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here, Firestarter Films’ Akicita: The Battle of Standing Rock and season 3 of HBO's Insecure. Anka’s collaborators have included Rose McGowan, Kristin Hanggi, Tim Hunter, Michael Gondrey, Issa Rae, James Chressanthis ASC and many more.

 

Anka has continually sought out and created work that is bold and diverse. She is as adept at leading a hundred-person crew through the monsoon-soaked jungles of South East Asia as she is at cultivating an intimate atmosphere on a three-person documentary shoot. Through her work she has hobnobbed with dignitaries and diplomats, and hung out with East L.A. gangsters. She speaks three languages fluently, and is comfortably conversational in half a dozen more, which only enhances Anka’s ability to make absolutely anyone and everyone feel comfortable in front of the lens.

 

The daughter of a Himalayan mountain climber and Polish immigrant scientist mother, Anka is deeply passionate about living an inspired life.  Outside of filmmaking, Anka herself is a mother, a wife, a surfer, a yogi, a traveler and purposefully inspiring human being.  Usually living in New York and Los Angeles, when she is not on set she spends the majority of the time traveling with her husband and son. For six months during the COVID pandemic in 2020 they resided in Nicaragua.

 

​