Sonia Herman Dolz (born 15 November 1962 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

) is a Dutch film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker, who gained international fame in 1993 with her documentary "Romance de Valentía" about the Spanish

bullfighting Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...

Life and work

Dolz is the daughter of the Czech-Peruvian economist Herman Dolz and the visual artist

Dora Dolz Dora Dolz de Herman (Barcelona, 5 November 1941 - Rotterdam, 1 March 2008) was a Spanish-Dutch artist, best known for her outdoor ceramic works in the form of chairs and sofas. Life and work Dolz grew up in Barcelona, where her father had a bo ...

, who came with her parents to the Netherlands at the age of three. She grew up in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and studied Spanish language and literature at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

. She also studied film and directing at the Free Academy in The Hague, where she graduated in 1994. Since 1993 she has been working as a filmmaker, screenwriter, photographer and occasionally as a producer, camera-woman and sound-woman. Between 1993 and 1996 she also worked as a documentary maker for the

VPRO The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for ''Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep'', lit. 'Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcaster', nowadays known as ''Omroepvereniging VPRO'') is a Netherlands, Dutch Public broadcasting, public broadca ...

program Diogenes, and since then she works on her own films. In 1993, she broke through internationally with her first feature documentary "Romance de Valentía" about the Spanish bullfighting, which was awarded at several European film festivals. Her film "Lagrimas Negras" (1997) about the Cuban old timers band Vieja Trova Santiaguera, won multiple awards, and anticipated Wim Wenders'

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club was a musical ensemble primarily made up of Cuban musicians, formed in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit (record label), World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and dire ...

, (1999). Sonia's subsequent documentaries include "The Master and His Pupil" about the Russian conductor

Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (, ; ; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conducting, conductor and opera company director. He is currently general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre and of the Bolshoi Theatre and artistic director o ...

, and filmic portraits of the Dutch folk singer Frédérique Spigt, and Sonia's mother, artist

. Sonia's work is distinguished several times among others with the

Golden Calf Special Jury Prize The following is a list of winners of the Golden Calf Special Jury Prize at the Nederlands Film Festival. * 2009 The whole team - ''Can Go Through Skin'' * 2008 Willem de Beukelaer's Stunt Team (Willem de Beukelaer, Marco Maas, Ronald Schuurbiers) ...

in 1998; as the best documentary at the Golden Prague Festival 2003; as best documentary at the

Bergen International Film Festival The Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) is a film festival held annually in October in Bergen, Norway since 2000. It is one of the biggest film festivals in Norway and among the most important documentary film festivals in the Nordic coun ...

in 2004; and with the Pendrecht Culture Prize in 2007 in Rotterdam.Sonia Herman Dolz on IMDB
on www.imdb.com

Honors

Romance de Valentía, 1993 * Golden Hugo for Best Documentary,

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

, 1994 * Best Documentary, Festróia Festival Internacional de Cinema de Tróia, Portugal, 1994 * Certificate of Merit,

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

, 1994 Lágrimas Negras, 1997 * Golden Calf, Special Jury Award, Netherlands Film Festival, 1998 * Gouden Beeld 'Academy Award', Netherlands Academy Award Foundation, 1999 * Holland Film Award, 1999 * Golden Plaque,

, 1998 * Audience Award and Silver Spire Award,

, 1998 * Audience Award,

Chicago Latino Film Festival The Chicago Latino Film Festival is a U.S. film festival, focusing on Latin America and Latinos. Held annually in Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midweste ...

, 1999 Yo soy así, 2000 * Grand Prize for Best Feature Documentary, International Documentary Festival Encontros Internacionais Cinema, Lisbon, 2000 * Prize of the Association of Cinematographers, International Documentary Festival Encontros Internacionais Cinema, Lisbon, 2000 * Premio F.A.D. de Artes Parateatrales, Barcelona, 2000 Master and His Pupil, 2003 * Golden Prague Award for Best Documentary, International Television Festival, Prague, 2003 * Best Documentary,

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

, New York, 2004 * Gouden Beeld 'Academy Award', Netherlands Academy Award Foundation, 2004 * Best documentary,

Bergen International Festival Bergen International Festival () is an annual international music and cultural festival in Bergen, Norway. In Spring 2022, Lars Petter Hagen took over as festival director. Biography The Bergen International festival is the largest festival ...

, Norway, 2004 * Prix de l'AQCC (Association Québécoise des Critiques) / AQCC Award,

Festival du Nouveau Cinéma The Festival du nouveau cinéma or FNC (English: ''Festival of New Cinema'') is an annual independent film festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, featuring independent films from around the world. Over 160,000 people attend each year. One of ...

, Montreal, 2004

Filmography, a selection

* 1993: ''Romance de Valentía'' (''Only The Brave'') * 1997. ''Lágrimas Negras'' (''Black Tears'') * 2000. ''Yo Soy Así'' (''This Is Me'') * 2003. ''The Master and His Pupil'' * 2004. ''Mans genoeg'' * 2004. ''She Came To Win'' * 2006. ''Portrait of Dora Dolz'' * 2009. ''Blanco - The Hidden Language of the Soul'' * 2010. ''All My Tomorrows'' * 2012. ''De balletmeesters'' * 2015. ''Conducting Boijmans''

References

External links

* *
filmfestival.nl
on the movies of Sonia Herman Dolz. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dolz, Dora 1962 births Living people Dutch film directors Dutch women film directors Leiden University alumni Film directors from Madrid