director of photography
anna mendes
anna is a brazilian director of photography based in los angeles, with experience in both narrative and commercial production. her body of work as a cinematographer includes a range of projects, from advertising campaigns for fortune 500 companies such as uber eats, twitter, and google, to narratives that have earned acclaim at film festivals nationwide.
one of her latest narrative works, they come from the sky, earned a place in the official selection of the american cinematheque's PROOF film festival and the new york latino film festival, presented by warner bros. discovery. it was also featured on the popular sci-fi DUST channel, garnering 200,000 views. another of her narratives, the short documentary uprooted, was a finalist at the my rode reel film competition, winning a $15k prize.
anna approaches the cinematography of each project by delving into the underlying themes of each story to understand how to bring it to life visually. her passion revolves around exploring the emotional subtleties of narratives, collaborating closely with directors and crews to craft a distinct visual language tailored to the essence of each story
in 2023, anna was chosen as one of four cinematographers from 1,500 applicants for the find your people program created by color creative. founded by issa rae, color creative split the cohort into four production teams and served as executive producer for their short films, which premiered at united talent agency.