Meet Anni Spacek | Documentary Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anni Spacek and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anni, how do you think about risk?
Risk-taking, for me, is inseparable from curiosity. As a documentary filmmaker, my work lives at the intersection of storytelling and truthtelling. The medium is inevitably subjective, yet grounded in a pursuit of authenticity—a grey area I’m drawn to. I gravitate toward ideas that feel a little risky or uncertain, and it’s in those moments that I want to point my camera.

Risk shows up in the conversations I aim to capture on film. Whether I’m asking Gen Z about their social media identities or talking to women about pleasure, emotional bravery—from both the subjects and myself—is essential. To capture a level of truth and vulnerability on camera, you have to sit with discomfort, invite people to be seen in all their messy humanness, and be willing to share your own heart, too.

In that way, risk has shaped my voice. It’s helped me grow not just as a filmmaker, but as someone comfortable with not knowing. I want to create work that sparks new conversations—and invites others to join in that risky curiosity.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve had a camera in my hand since I was ten years old. My first short film, “Where My Feet Have Been in a Day”, was edited in iMovie to a Zero 7 song—and I’ve been hooked ever since. There’s nothing more creatively exciting than the combination of photography, movement, sound, and story.

I’ve always been deeply affected by documentary film. As an avid observer, I love to watch and think. As simple as that sounds, I truly love to look—to study people. I see my documentaries as experiments, like field research, to gain some understanding of the world around me.

I’m speaking as though I’m a seasoned filmmaker—but the truth is, I’m 22 and fresh out of film school, very much still discovering my place in the industry. Moving from my small town in New York to Los Angeles has grown my voice tremendously and introduced me to a world I was once very far from.

Today, being a documentary filmmaker feels difficult for a number of reasons. As a member of Gen Z, I see firsthand how hard it is to hold attention in a world saturated with fast content. I’m a sucker for it too, but I want to challenge how we’ve been spending our time. My goal is to make work that doesn’t just entertain, but invites people to live more colorfully, collectively and honestly. To watch and think.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For the best day ever, I’d take a visitor to a show at The Lodge Room in Highland Park, then grab a midnight breakfast at Fred 62. I’d plan a farmers market/flea market crawl, definitely hitting Mar Vista and Silver Lake. Then, I’d dedicate an entire day to the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena—with cameras and books in hand.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would undoubtedly dedicate my shoutout to my parents. They’re both artists who instilled in me a deep sense of curiosity, courage, and an understanding of the importance of art.

Thank you to my dad—for starring in my early short films and, without hesitation, stuffing ketchup blood up his nose for the shot. And thank you to my mom—for always believing in me and supporting every risky idea I’ve wanted to chase.

Website: https://annispacek.myportfolio.com/work

Instagram: @annispacek

Image Credits
Laine Messier, Jake Richard, Alison Seiffer, Eric He