Vanya Rainova is an award-winning writer and producer who is a managing partner at Portokal. She produced and co-wrote the short film Pride (2013), which won the Grand Prix at Clermont Ferrand and is EFA-nominated, among many other recognitions and awards. Vanya is also a co-author of the award-wining creative documentary The Last Black Sea Pirates (2013). Before walking into the world of filmmaking, Vanya published multiple short fiction and feature stories in magazines and anthologies in Europe and the United States. Vanya has a master's in creative writing from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ithaca College.