Darya Zhuk
Darya Zhuk is an independent film director and playwright of Belarusian origin. She was born in Minsk in 1980, at the age of 16 she left to the USA where she studied economics at Harvard and started her career as a business analyst at HBO. She became interested in filmmaking and in 2014 graduated with honors from Columbia MFA in Directing. Zhuk's credits as director and playwright include detective drama Zato for Netflix, Russian Affairs for Amazon Europe, Little America for Apple TV+, and many more.
Darya Zhuk
- Name
- Darya Zhuk
- Born
- 26 April 1980
- Birthplace
- Minsk
- Occupation
- Film director, playwright
- Nationality
- Belarus
- Known for
- Crystal Swan
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Darya Zhuk is an independent film director and playwright of Belarusian origin. She was born in Minsk in 1980, at the age of 16 she left to the USA where she studied economics at Harvard and started her career as a business analyst at HBO. She became interested in filmmaking and in 2014 graduated with honors from Columbia MFA in Directing. Zhuk's credits as director and playwright include detective drama Zato for Netflix, Russian Affairs for Amazon Europe, Little America for Apple TV+, and many more.
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Darya Zhuk (born 1980) is a film director and screenwriter and a national of Belarus. The film director was born in Minsk. Darya Zhuk is a member of Belarusian Independent Film Academy. Works include Crystal Swan.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q56154653 · wikipedia · Darya Zhuk
In this article
Biography
Biography
In 2018, she released her feature debut Crystal Swan, a story about a young DJ girl who hopes to get an American visa and go to the USA. At the post-production stage, the movie won the Best International Works in Progress award at PÖFF film festival in Tallinn as well as several prizes at international film festivals. Crystal Swan was selected as the Belarusian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Oscars, but was not nominated. In 2023, Zhuk presented her We Haven’t Met Until This Summer at the 23rd edition of the east–west co-production market at German Film Festival Cottbus. The project is produced by Ewa Puszczynska. Zhuk is one of the founders of the Belarusian Film Academy (BIFA). Zhuk's upcoming project is titled Exactly What It Seems and is described as a dystopian science fiction drama.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Darya Zhuk • Born — 26 April 1980 • Birthplace — Minsk • Occupation — Film director, playwright • Notable Works — Crystal Swan
Filmography
Filmography
• Half-Life (2011, short) • The Air Inside Her (2011, short) • Eat the Tourists (2014, short) • The Real American (2015, short) • Crystal Swan (2018) • Gold Diggers TV series (2020, 2 season) • The Premise TV series (2021, episode 4)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1980
Darya Zhuk born at Minsk.
Awards
• 2015 — Best female writer-director award – New York Women in Film and Television; • Best Female Director by Adrienne Shelly Foundation (nomination); • Special jury prize for her short The Real American at Listapad Film Festival in Minsk;
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Columbia University. Darya Zhuk.
- 2.Dimambro, Angeline. Darya Zhuk '15 Directs Episodes of 'ZATO' for Netflix. Columbia University. 2022-02-24.
- 3.Euroradio. Netflix freezes project of Belarusian director Darya Zhuk. 2023-03-08.
- 4.White, Peter. Loco Films Boards Vice Films Co-Production ‘Crystal Swan’ Ahead Of Its Festival Debut. Deadline. 2018-06-29.
- 5.Basse, Lena. Crystal Swan (Belarus). Golden Globes. 2018-12-01.
- 6.Donnelly, Matt. Belarus to Enter Oscar Race After 22 Years With Indie Gem ‘Crystal Swan’. The Wrap. 2018-07-01.
- 7.Tribeca Film Institute. Darya Zhuk.
- 8.Holdsworth, Nick. Oscars: Belarus Selects 'Crystal Swan' for Foreign-Language Category. The Hollywood Reporter. Valence Media. 30 June 2018.
- 9.Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science.
- 10.Blaney, Martin. Ivan Tverdovsky, Darya Zhuk projects head Germany’s Connecting Cottbus line-up. Screen Daily. 2021-09-16.
- 11.Vourlias, Christopher. Filmmakers Launch Belarusian Film Academy to Give a Voice to Threatened Artists in Repressive Putin Ally. Variety. 2023-02-17.
- 12.Balaga, Marta. ‘Crystal Swan’ Director Darya Zhuk Preps Dystopian Science Fiction Drama ‘Exactly What It Seems’ (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. 2024-08-12.
- 13.Bratislava International Film Festival. Darya Zhuk.
- 14.NYWIFT. Terry’s Picks SummerHours Series, Debra Granik, Darya Zhuk. 2018-07-10.
- 15.Tribeca Film Institute. Darya Zhuk.
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
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