Sacha Polak (born 1982) is a Dutch film director.

Career

In 2012 Polak's feature film debut ''Hemel'' played at the

62nd Berlin International Film Festival The 62nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2012. British film director Mike Leigh was the president of the jury. The first five films to be screened in the competition were announced on 19 December 2011. Am ...

. Additionally her short ''Brother'' and her step-mother

Meral Uslu Meral is a common Turkish given name that means female deer. It is Turkish variant of Maral. In Altai, Turkish, Mongolian, Armenian and Persian " Maral" means "female deer". It is also used as a surname. People Given name * Meral Akşener (born ...

's film on which she was a script supervisor, all played at the festival as well. In 2014 Polak was initially going to direct the film ''

Vita & Virginia ''Vita & Virginia'' is a 2018 biographical romantic drama film directed by Chanya Button. The screenplay, written by Button and Eileen Atkins, is adapted from the 1992 play ''Vita & Virginia'' by Atkins. The film stars Gemma Arterton, Elizabet ...

'' about the love-affair between

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

and

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful nov ...

but was she replaced by

Chanya Button Chanya Joyce Dorothy Button (born 25 December 1986) is an English director and screenwriter. After studying at RADA and learning the ropes in the assistant directors' department on the ''Harry Potter'' franchise, she directed two feature fil ...

. In 2015 Polak's second film ''Zurich'' played at the

65th Berlin International Film Festival The 65th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 February 2015, with American film director Darren Aronofsky as the president of the jury. German film director Wim Wenders was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear. The ...

. Polak's next feature film was the movie '' Dirty God'' about a woman who sustained facial burns after an acid attack by her ex-partner. This film won her the

Golden Calf According to the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran, the golden calf () was a cult image made by the Israelites when Moses went up to Mount Sinai (bible), Mount Sinai. In Hebrew, the incident is known as "the sin of the calf" (). It is first mentio ...

award for best direction at the 2019

Netherlands Film Festival The Netherlands Film Festival () is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht. During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Besides feature films, the prog ...

. The lead actress in the film,

Vicky Knight Vicky Knight (also previously known as Vicky Chaundy; born 1996) is an English film actress and hospital healthcare assistant. She has starred in ''Too Ugly For Love'' (2014) and '' Dirty God'' (2019). Knight debuted as an actress from Sacha P ...

, won a BAFTA Breakthrough Brits award for new talent at the 2019 British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards.

Personal life

Polak's mother died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

11 months after she was born. Director

is her step-mother.

Filmography

*'' Hemel'' (2012) *''Zurich'' (2015) * '' Dirty God'' (2019) * ''Hanna'' (2019-2021) * '' Silver Haze'' (2023)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Polak, Sacha Living people Dutch women film directors 1982 births