Hanna Polak

Directing

Hanna Polak

Born

1967-07-21 (59)

Place of birth

Katowice, Śląskie, Poland

Known for

Directing

Credits

18 titles

Hanna Polak (born 1967) is a Polish documentary director, cinematographer and producer. For her short documentary film, "The Children of Leningradsky", about a community of homeless children living in the Leningradsky railway station in Moscow, she was nominated for an Academy Award and an Emmy Award. In 2003, she was awarded Best Producer of Documentary Movies at the Kraków Film Festival for Railway Station Ballad. In 2004, Polak completed her documentary film, "The Children of Leningradsky", which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). In 2014, Polak has completed her documentary film "Something Better To Come", which received the International Documentar…

Known for

Something Better to Come poster
6.7

Right outside of Moscow – home to the highest number of billionaires pr. capita – you’ll find the largest junkyard in the world: The Svalka. It’s a hard place run by the Russian mafia. And it's where Yula lives with her mother, her friends and many other people. Life is tough in the Svalka, but it’s also a place where beauty and humanity can arise from the most unlikely conditions. It is from this place that Yula dreams of escaping and changing her life, even if it seems impossible. Oscar-nominated director Hanna Polak followed Yula for 14 years, bringing us along on Yula's journey to achieve this dream.

Something Better to Come

2014

Nieletni inżynierowie poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Nieletni inżynierowie

2020

Angels of Sinjar poster
9.0

Hanifa and Saeed barely survived the hell that ISIS inflicted on them and their people. Hanifa escaped kidnapping, but her younger sisters were enslaved by the Islamic State. Hanifa embarks on a mission to find them and bring them home.

Angels of Sinjar

2022

The Children of Leningradsky poster
7.5

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain an estimated four million children have found themselves living on the streets in the former countries of the Soviet Union. In the streets of Moscow alone there are over 30,000 surviving in this manner at the present time. The makers of the documentary film concentrated on a community of homeless children living hand to mouth in the Moscow train station Leningradsky. Eight-year-old Sasha, eleven-year-old Kristina, thirteen-year-old Misha and ten-year-old Andrej all dream of living in a communal home. They spend winter nights trying to stay warm by huddling together on hot water pipes and most of their days are spent begging. Andrej has found himself here because of disagreements with his family. Kristina was driven into this way of life by the hatred of her stepmother and twelve-year-old Roma by the regular beatings he received from his constantly drunk father. "When it is worst, we try to make money for food by prostitution," admits ...

The Children of Leningradsky

2005

No artwork available
NR

A poignant image of the environment of the homeless. The film is a documentary record of the everyday life of Russian children, small refugees from orphanages who chose a street or a railway station for their home.

A Railway Station Song

2003

No artwork available
NR

After the second round of the 2004 presidential elections in Ukraine, millions of people went out on the streets. During this revolution, there was a genuine solidarity between people from different levels of the society, from the cities and the countryside. Although these people were brought up in a Soviet society where every protest against the authorities was a danger to one's life, they were so disappointed by what came after the collapse of the Soviet Union that they went out to the streets, faced the authorities and made the orange revolution possible. The film explores motives for taking part in the Ukrainian revolution, their view of the world, living-condition and hope for the future.

The Orange Sun

2006

Behind the camera

Something Better to Come poster
6.7

Right outside of Moscow – home to the highest number of billionaires pr. capita – you’ll find the largest junkyard in the world: The Svalka. It’s a hard place run by the Russian mafia. And it's where Yula lives with her mother, her friends and many other people. Life is tough in the Svalka, but it’s also a place where beauty and humanity can arise from the most unlikely conditions. It is from this place that Yula dreams of escaping and changing her life, even if it seems impossible. Oscar-nominated director Hanna Polak followed Yula for 14 years, bringing us along on Yula's journey to achieve this dream.

Something Better to Come

2014

Something Better to Come poster
6.7

Right outside of Moscow – home to the highest number of billionaires pr. capita – you’ll find the largest junkyard in the world: The Svalka. It’s a hard place run by the Russian mafia. And it's where Yula lives with her mother, her friends and many other people. Life is tough in the Svalka, but it’s also a place where beauty and humanity can arise from the most unlikely conditions. It is from this place that Yula dreams of escaping and changing her life, even if it seems impossible. Oscar-nominated director Hanna Polak followed Yula for 14 years, bringing us along on Yula's journey to achieve this dream.

Something Better to Come

2014

Something Better to Come poster
6.7

Right outside of Moscow – home to the highest number of billionaires pr. capita – you’ll find the largest junkyard in the world: The Svalka. It’s a hard place run by the Russian mafia. And it's where Yula lives with her mother, her friends and many other people. Life is tough in the Svalka, but it’s also a place where beauty and humanity can arise from the most unlikely conditions. It is from this place that Yula dreams of escaping and changing her life, even if it seems impossible. Oscar-nominated director Hanna Polak followed Yula for 14 years, bringing us along on Yula's journey to achieve this dream.

Something Better to Come

2014

Nieletni inżynierowie poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Nieletni inżynierowie

2020

Angels of Sinjar poster
9.0

Hanifa and Saeed barely survived the hell that ISIS inflicted on them and their people. Hanifa escaped kidnapping, but her younger sisters were enslaved by the Islamic State. Hanifa embarks on a mission to find them and bring them home.

Angels of Sinjar

2022

Angels of Sinjar poster
9.0

Hanifa and Saeed barely survived the hell that ISIS inflicted on them and their people. Hanifa escaped kidnapping, but her younger sisters were enslaved by the Islamic State. Hanifa embarks on a mission to find them and bring them home.

Angels of Sinjar

2022

The Children of Leningradsky poster
7.5

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain an estimated four million children have found themselves living on the streets in the former countries of the Soviet Union. In the streets of Moscow alone there are over 30,000 surviving in this manner at the present time. The makers of the documentary film concentrated on a community of homeless children living hand to mouth in the Moscow train station Leningradsky. Eight-year-old Sasha, eleven-year-old Kristina, thirteen-year-old Misha and ten-year-old Andrej all dream of living in a communal home. They spend winter nights trying to stay warm by huddling together on hot water pipes and most of their days are spent begging. Andrej has found himself here because of disagreements with his family. Kristina was driven into this way of life by the hatred of her stepmother and twelve-year-old Roma by the regular beatings he received from his constantly drunk father. "When it is worst, we try to make money for food by prostitution," admits ...

The Children of Leningradsky

2005

The Children of Leningradsky poster
7.5

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain an estimated four million children have found themselves living on the streets in the former countries of the Soviet Union. In the streets of Moscow alone there are over 30,000 surviving in this manner at the present time. The makers of the documentary film concentrated on a community of homeless children living hand to mouth in the Moscow train station Leningradsky. Eight-year-old Sasha, eleven-year-old Kristina, thirteen-year-old Misha and ten-year-old Andrej all dream of living in a communal home. They spend winter nights trying to stay warm by huddling together on hot water pipes and most of their days are spent begging. Andrej has found himself here because of disagreements with his family. Kristina was driven into this way of life by the hatred of her stepmother and twelve-year-old Roma by the regular beatings he received from his constantly drunk father. "When it is worst, we try to make money for food by prostitution," admits ...

The Children of Leningradsky

2005

The Children of Leningradsky poster
7.5

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain an estimated four million children have found themselves living on the streets in the former countries of the Soviet Union. In the streets of Moscow alone there are over 30,000 surviving in this manner at the present time. The makers of the documentary film concentrated on a community of homeless children living hand to mouth in the Moscow train station Leningradsky. Eight-year-old Sasha, eleven-year-old Kristina, thirteen-year-old Misha and ten-year-old Andrej all dream of living in a communal home. They spend winter nights trying to stay warm by huddling together on hot water pipes and most of their days are spent begging. Andrej has found himself here because of disagreements with his family. Kristina was driven into this way of life by the hatred of her stepmother and twelve-year-old Roma by the regular beatings he received from his constantly drunk father. "When it is worst, we try to make money for food by prostitution," admits ...

The Children of Leningradsky

2005

No artwork available
NR

A poignant image of the environment of the homeless. The film is a documentary record of the everyday life of Russian children, small refugees from orphanages who chose a street or a railway station for their home.

A Railway Station Song

2003

No artwork available
NR

After the second round of the 2004 presidential elections in Ukraine, millions of people went out on the streets. During this revolution, there was a genuine solidarity between people from different levels of the society, from the cities and the countryside. Although these people were brought up in a Soviet society where every protest against the authorities was a danger to one's life, they were so disappointed by what came after the collapse of the Soviet Union that they went out to the streets, faced the authorities and made the orange revolution possible. The film explores motives for taking part in the Ukrainian revolution, their view of the world, living-condition and hope for the future.

The Orange Sun

2006

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Warsaw Battle 1920 in 3D

2010

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Faces of Homelessness

2010

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Al. Tribute to Albert Maysles

2004

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Al. Tribute to Albert Maysles

2004

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Love and Rubbish

2012

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Love and Rubbish

2012

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Love and Rubbish

2012