Pola Rapaport                               Writer / Director  / Editor

446 Kent Avenue #3F      Brooklyn, NY 11211        e-mail: polarap@gmail.com

Tel:  212-620-0029                                                           www.blindinglightfilms.com    

           

John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in Film

New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships in Video and Film

NYSCA Production grants

 

Independent Films

 

HAIR: Let the Sun Shine In

Documentary on the phenomenal 40-year old musical. 55 minutes, color, produced by Ina, Blinding Light & Arte/France

Non-theatrical & DVD distribution: Alive Mind Films. Currently in DVD release across the US.

Festivals: Amsterdam IDFA 2007, Thessaloniki, Planet Doc Review Warsaw, Jerusalem , Mill Valley,  Seattle, Sarasota,  Jecheon Korea, Perth International Film Festivals , 2008, Revolve Music Festival, SC 2009

Broadcasts:  Sundance Channel, US; Arte/France & Germany; RTBF/ Belgium, 2007; purchased for Finland, Italy, Canada and others

Producer’s Rep:  Cactus Three

“Without exception, it is the best HAIR film I have ever seen.” –Michael Butler, Producer of HAIR

“Wonderful work!”Milos Forman

 

Writer of O      

Documentary on the hidden author of the French erotic classic, Story of O. 80 minutes, color, Super-16 film & DV, 2004. Produced by INA, Blinding Light, Inc and Arte/France.

Theatrical & DVD distribution: Zeitgeist Films. Currently in DVD release across the US.

Prizes: Grand Prix, Best Documentary, URTI, Monte Carlo 2005

Festivals: Toronto Int’l Film Festival (world premiere), Amsterdam IDFA • Jerusalem Int’l Film Festival • FIPA   Seattle  DenverNewportWisconsin • Indianapolis  et al

Screenings: Mini-INPUT, Santiago, Chile, 2007 • INPUT, Taiwan, 2006 • Film Forum, NYC (US theatrical premiere) • Philoctetes, NY Psychoanalytic Institute

Broadcast:  Arte/France & Germany, RTBF/ Belgium, 2004; YLE/Finland 2005; Sundance Channel/US, 2007

“Audacious” – L’HUMANITE  Combines with virtuosity the filmmaker’s search, dramatizations of the book, and the quiet sweetness of Dominique Aury” – LIBERATION  “Remarkable intelligence… magnificent” – LE MONDE

 

September Eleventh: Eyewitnesses      

Documentary on personal accounts of the attacks on New York. 10 minutes, color super-8, 2002

Screenings: Walker Art Center• Wisconsin Film Festival• Under Ground Zero • Hamptons International Film Festival • Montreal Festival of New Media • Library of Congress Exhibition   Broadcast:  Sundance Channel, 2002

 

Family Secret    

Documentary on the reunion of the filmmaker with her long-lost Romanian brother, their father's "family secret". 

58 minutes, color & b/w 16mm/ DV, 2000.  Produced by Blinding Light, Inc and  La Sept Arte French TV.

Distribution:  On-line distribution by Cinetic Rights Management across the US.

Prizes: Best Documentary of the Year  Grand Prix SCAM (Société Civile des Auteurs Multimédia, France), 2001

Festivals: Rotterdam • Gothenburg • Hot Docs TorontoLeipzigDenverMill Valley • NY DOCFEST • Wisconsin

San Francisco, Toronto and Washington Jewish Film Festivals • Walker Art Center

Broadcasts: WDR/Germany 2002; Sundance Channel/US, 2001; Arte/France & Germany 2000

"This astonishing autobiographical document blends black & white with color, love, humor, bitterness and hope." 

-LE MONDE.  "Engrossing... offers a unique and intimate view of war, displacement and immigration as the 20th Century's great dividers"- VARIETY  "Heartfelt... chronicles the filmmaker's search for family ties and the Romanian brother she never knew she had."- VILLAGE VOICE

 

 

Blind Light  

Documentary/ drama.   Starring Emmy Award Winner Edie Falco and featuring Per Myrberg and Richard Hell.

58 minutes, color and b/w 16mm, 1998.  Produced by Blinding Light, Inc.

DVD Distribution:  Choices Video. Currently in DVD release across the US.

Prizes:  Lumiere Award, New Orleans Film Festival 2000 

Broadcasts:  Arte/France & Germany 2004; Independent Film Channel US 2001; RAI/Italy 2000; YLE/Finland 1999

Festivals:  DenverWisconsinSxSWGothenburg  Amsterdam Doc  Mill Valley  Walker Art Center

"Beautifully shot and artfully composed...a haunting, lyrical, hypnotic work"--Austin Chronicle

"Magic... A wonderful achievement"--Bo Smith, Curator, Boston Museum of Fine Arts

 


 

Broken Meat     

Documentary portrait of Bukowski-style beat poet Alan Granville. 50 min., 16mm b/w, 1990.  

Prizes:  Critics' Prize/ Leningrad Film Festival  Ivens Prize Nominee / Amsterdam Documentary Festival• Best Cinematography/ Oberhausen• Best Documentary/ New Orleans • Special Jury Prize/Hawaii Film Festival

Festivals, Screenings:  Sundance Film Festival EdinburghPesaroCorkMunich Filmmuseum • Flaherty Seminar

Broadcasts:  Sundance Channel, '98; WNET/ Ch 13 Reel New York '96; SBS/Australia '93; ZDF/Germany  '92

"Funky, excellent, neo-beatnik... A must see, especially for poets" - Baltimore City Paper

"A visual joy" - Chicago New Paper  "Wonderful!"- Kurt Vonnegut  "Perfect documentary" - Park City Paper

 

Early short films

Joanna's Jobs    9 min. 1987 Prize winner at Seattle  and Cleveland Film Festival

Tooth and Mask    12 min. 1986 Max Ophuls Preis Saarbrücken Film Festival

Lenore Tawney's "Cloud Series #VIII"   10 min. 1984         0,1,1,2,3,5; or, the Walls Have the Floor    44  min. 1983

Pool    25 min. 1978; with Ally Sheedy                     Reflexive Francis Film   17 min.  1976

 

Other Broadcasts and Screenings   

WNET/Channel 13 Independent Focus • Pacific Film Archives •Artists Space •Edinburgh Film Festival • ClevelandAspenSaarbrückenUppsala Film Festivals

 

One-Woman Shows:

MoMA, New YorkWalker Art CenterBerlin Arsenal •French Cinematheque •Metropolis Kino, HamburgStedelijk Museum, Amsterdam • Millennium, New York

 

Grants and Fellowships           

John Simon Guggenheim '02 • NYFA  '02, '91 • NYSCA '93, '91 • Jerome Foundation '00, '98 & '90 • Art Matters, '94, '88

 

Education    

BFA at NYU Tisch School of the Arts

 

Languages     

French, Italian, German, Portuguese        

 

Dual Citizen

USA/ France