Stephanie Spray

Stephanie Spray is a filmmaker and anthropologist and Associate Professor of Anthropology and Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, where she serves as the founding director of the Center for Ethnographic Media Arts. She holds a PhD in Social Anthropology with Media from Harvard University, an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School, and a B.A. in the Study of Religion from Smith College. Her work spans ethnographic cinema, sound studies, and contemporary art, emerging from long-term fieldwork processes and presented at major international festivals, museums, and cultural institutions worldwide. Her films include Manakamana (2013), co-directed with Pacho Velez, which was part of a larger body of work produced in Nepal over a decade, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, won the Cineasti del Presente Golden Leopard, and was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art. Her broader work has screened at the Whitney Biennial, New York Film Festival, CPH:DOX, Viennale, and the Harvard Film Archive, and has received support from the Sundance Institute, Fulbright Program, Princess Grace Foundation, and Catapult Film Fund. In addition to filmmaking, Spray’s research and creative practice engage environmental change, conservation, and labor practices.