Profile

Dr. Anna Henderson is a Senior Teaching Associate in Film Practice, an independent researcher, and filmmaker. Her research interests are connected with film practice, screenwriting, intercultural screen adaptation, and female characters.

Anna holds a Master's degree in Screenwriting from Edinburgh Napier University. She is a screenwriter and filmmaker with numerous credits in film and TV in both Russia and the UK. She currently develops a feature film "The Punishment" which is the feature length sequel of her PhD research short film "Transgressing". The films she creates focus on individuals confronting moral challenges, ethical dilemmas, social inequality, and the fight for human rights. Her pursuit of a filmmaking career is rooted in her strong belief in the impact and, therefore, the responsibility of cinema.

Anna completed her Ph.D. in Film at the Lancaster Institute of Contemporary Arts at Lancaster University. Her doctoral research explored film adaptation in the process of crossing historical, national, and gender borders. Using an interdisciplinary approach, she intertwined areas such as Film Studies, Russian Studies, Adaptation Studies, and Creative Writing. Her research was practice-based, involving writing a screenplay and producing a short film as the culmination of theoretical findings. Her practical project, the short film "Transgressing," demonstrated how Dostoevsky's novel can resonate with contemporary audiences. The film raised several topical questions for modern Britain and the world, including social inequality, freedom of religion or belief, freedom of education, freedom from abuse, the #metoo movement, and the student sex industry, to name a few. She successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis in September 2023.