Hi, I’m Anya!
Anya Kuzmina-Barnes makes films about bodies in motion. Based in New York, she directs commercials and branded content for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle — bringing a photographer's eye and a dancer's instinct to every frame. Her clients include L’oreal, Framebridge, Ebony, and Vogue.
Her work embraces shadow and directionality, giving images depth and intimacy. On set, whether directing dancers or not, she draws movement from every subject — striving for something close to life rather than the performance of it. That instinct comes from years inside hip-hop dance culture, where she learned firsthand how movement carries emotion — knowledge that lives in every frame she makes.
Her short film A Fully Embodied Woman premiered at the Video Art and Experimental Film Festival in 2024. Available for commercial and branded projects worldwide.
My Approach
Every project starts with a conversation — not about aesthetics, but about feeling. What do you want your audience to feel? What do you want them to understand about your product, your story, your work? That answer shapes everything that follows.
From there, the process is intentional at every level. The team matters as much as the brief — not just skill, but attitude, energy, and how people show up for each other. A set should be a place where everyone's wellbeing is taken seriously, not just the end result. That environment is what makes people relax, open up, and give you something real.
That's especially true when directing movement. Anya translates film direction into movement direction — asking questions, learning each subject's personal story, finding the gesture or impulse that's theirs rather than performed. The result is work that feels alive because it is.
Casting is part of that intention too. Choosing to center people who are rarely centered is not just an aesthetic decision — it's the work itself.