Biography
Documentary filmmaker Hanna Polak’s emotional bond with her protagonists allows her to deliver visceral, poetic films that celebrate the power of the human spirit and portray the beauty of humanity in the most adverse circumstances.
Her works have been screened in festivals around the world, including Sundance, IDFA, True/False, FIPA, and broadcast on major television networks, including HBO America, HBO Europe, Canal+, NHK, SVT, Yle, DR. Her short documentary film, The Children of Leningradsky (2004), was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary and received the Best Documentary Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association.
She is the recipient of the Golden Heart Award by NTV (Russia) (2006); Crystal Mirror award by the Zwierciadlo magazine in Poland; and Best Producer of Documentary and Short Fiction Movies, Poland, for Railway Station Ballad (2002).
Polak studied acting and theatre at the Acting School in Wroclaw and Warsaw, Poland, and worked in the Theatre of Entertainment, Chorzow. She graduated with a master’s degree from the Cinematography Institute of the Russian Federation (VGIK) (2007).
Born in 1967 in Katowice, Poland, Polak currently lives and works between Poland and the United States.
SAF Participation:
Sharjah Film Platform 4 (2021)
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SFP4 Talks and Workshops
Sharjah Film Platform (SFP) offers a programme of talks on cinema and artists’ moving image as well as sessions addressing current debates in the film industry. A programme of workshops for children and families aims to teach children about the various aspects of filmmaking, such as screenwriting, storyboarding, lighting, filming and production.
Sharjah Film Platform 4
Sharjah Film Platform is an annual festival organised by Sharjah Art Foundation to support the growing film scene in the UAE by celebrating and sustaining the work of local, regional and international filmmakers.
A limited number of Festival Passes and tickets to individual screenings are now available for purchase online. To book your SFP4 Festival Pass or tickets, click here.