About MM Editions

A Parisian by birth, residence and heart, Maria Matalaev is a translator and literature teacher. She is also co-founder, executive director and professor at the Paris Institute for Critical Thinking, and above all – a book devourer since she first held one in her hands. Born to Russian parents, Maria Matalaev grew up speaking two languages, before studying English, German and Spanish; this rich background opened her up to worlds where thought doesn't always follow the same paths, and she developed an early taste for an interpreter's role that aims to convey the innermost depth of thought rather than the literal verb. This appetite for “translation”, or more generally her need to bring people together, also stems from her ancestry, as she comes from two lines of internationally renowned musician-interpreters. It was therefore only natural that Maria should pursue high-level musical studies, which led her to perform as a concert pianist, with orchestra from the age of fifteen, and in various countries, notably at the Wigmore Hall (London), the Salles Gaveau and Cortot (Paris), and in the Great and Small Halls of the Moscow Conservatory. In the midst of an eclectic career marked by the arts (BA in Applied Humanities, MA in Literature, DU in Teacher Training, DEM in piano), Maria also studied art history while working at Sotheby's and various antiquarian booksellers in Paris, before turning to music production, working with ensembles such as the Secession Orchestra. She curated the exhibition “La Musique d'une Vie” (2020, Mer) and created a literary tarot deck, which she was invited to do readings of at the Livrodrome in 2023 and 2024. Her 2015 book, *Valentin Berlinsky: Le Quatuor d’Une Vie* (Aedam Musicae), was awarded the “Testimony Prize” at the Prix des Muses 2016. Translated into English (*Valentin Berlinsky: A Quartet for Life*, Kahn & Averill) the book was featured on BBC Music Magazine's 2019 list of best books on classical music. Maria's translations cover a wide range of fields, from history to politics and literature. Her translation and writing credits include *L'urbanisme informel: au-delà du droit à la ville* by Jean-Jacques Perrin and Ina Wagner (Presses des Ponts, 2023), *Fille de la Révolution* by Vera Broido (Allia, February 2025), *Anna Karénine* ( Belin, 2025), *Cette petite fille bleue* (El Circulo, 2025). In 2024, she was awarded a grant from the Centre National du Livre to translate *[The Veil of Depiction: Painting in Sufism and Phenomenology](https://parisinstitute.org/french-ministry-of-culture-awards-grant-to-translate-pict-book/)* by Evrim Emir-Sayers (PICT Books).

With a doctorate in contemporary art history, Anne Foucault has devoted her research to Surrealism after 1945, published in 2022 under the title Histoire du surréalisme ignore (Hermann). She has published articles in numerous journals and collective works in French and English. Passionate about the history of the Russian Revolution, she has co-translated with Maria Matalaev Vera Broido's autobiography, Fille de la revolution (Allia, February 2025). She is a research fellow at the Musée national d'art moderne – Centre Pompidou since February 2021 and a lecturer at École du Louvre.

A chemical engineer by training and cinephile, Hector arrived in France in 2002 to study cinema. In 2006, he set up the company Medio de Contención producciones in Colombia and worked as a director, director of photography and editor of documentaries. His first documentary film won the Best Documentary Award at the Biarritz Festival, as well as the Otras Miradas prize from the Latin American Council for Social Sciences. He is a founding member of the association Le Chien qui Aboie, which aims to promote and distribute Latin American cinema in France and Europe. He was part of the programming team for six years. In 2017, he founded Chakalaka Films in France. Closing on twenty years of experience in the film industry, Hector has produced films as part of international co-productions, particularly between Latin America and Europe: *UN VARON* by Fabián Hernández (The Directors' Fortnight - Cannes 2022, representing Colombia at the Oscars as Best International Film); AMPARO by Simón Mesa Louis Rœderer Foundation Rising Star Award - Semaine de la critique, Cannes Film Festival 2021); TANTAS ALMAS by Nicolás Rincon (German Camera Award 2020, Golden Star for Best Film - Marrakech International Film Festival 2019 and Busan International Film Festival 2019); among others. Hector has also developed activities related to the training of audiences and film professionals, through the organization and production of the workshop *Filmando en Colombia con ABBAS KIAROSTAMI 2014, as well as the workshops Filmando en Cuba 2017, Filming a strange planet in Lanzarote 2021 and Under the volcano in La Palma 2024 with WERNER HERZOG. Currently, he is developing several projects combining education with cinema and audiovisual media, focusing on Information and Communication Technologies: www.cinescuela.org. He oversees multimedia and mixed media content at MM Publishing.