Apolonia, Apolonia | Denmark, Poland, France | 2022 | DCP | 116 min. | French, Polish, Danish with English subtitles
Filmed over 13 years, this astonishing portrait of a young painter searching for her artistic voice won the grand prize at IDFA, the world’s most prominent documentary festival. Born into a bohemian Parisian theater company, Apolonia Sokol runs the gauntlet of the male art world—from the prestigious Beaux Arts academy (where she is told her personality is more interesting than her paintings) to the ruthlessly capitalist Los Angeles collectors’ market. A feminist reckoning with art world paternalism, Apolonia, Apolonia is itself as much a testament to resilience and the artistic spirit as the remarkable woman at its center. (MK)
