Hito Steyerl is a German filmmaker, moving image artist, writer, and innovator of the essay documentary. She holds a PhD in Philosophy from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, and is currently a professor of New Media Art at the Berlin University of the Arts, where she co-founded the Research Center for Proxy Politics. Her principal topics of interest are media, technology, and the global circulation of images. She has been a strong supporter of the Kurdish cause, including in her 2004 video essay November.