{{short description|Dutch film director}} [[File:Sacha Polak 2011.png|thumb|Sacha Polak in 2011]] '''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]]. This film, translated into Russian by Andrey Efremov, was shown in 2014 in the [[Russia|Russian]] city of [[Vologda]] as part of the VOICES Young Cinema [[Film Festival|Festival]]. Additionally her short ''Brother'' and her step-mother [[Meral Uslu]]'s film on which she was a script supervisor, all played at the festival as well.<ref>{{cite web|title=Return to Berlin: interview with director Sacha Polak|url=http://www.filmfestival.nl/profs_en/news/interviews/return-to-berlin-interview-with-director-sacha-polak/|accessdate=7 May 2015}}</ref>
In 2014 Polak was initially going to direct the film ''[[Vita & Virginia]]'' about the love-affair between [[Virginia Woolf]] and [[Vita Sackville-West]] but was she replaced by [[Chanya Button]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=McCarthy|first1=Esther|title='Vita & Virginia' with Gemma Arterton, Elizabeth Debicki: exclusive new image and set report|url=https://www.screendaily.com/features/vita-and-virginia-with-gemma-arterton-elizabeth-debicki-exclusive-new-image-and-set-report/5126779.article|website=[[Screen Daily]]|date=18 February 2018|accessdate=29 October 2020}}</ref>
In 2015 Polak's second film ''Zurich'' played at the [[65th Berlin International Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lodge|first1=Guy|title=Film Review: ‘Zurich’|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/film-review-zurich-1201434146/|accessdate=7 May 2015}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dalton |first1=Ben |title=First look at Sacha Polak's acid attack drama 'Dirty God' (exclusive) |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/first-look-at-sacha-polaks-acid-attack-drama-dirty-god-exclusive/5126527.article |accessdate=9 September 2018}}</ref> This film won her the [[Golden Calf (award)|Golden Calf]] award for best direction at the 2019 [[Netherlands Film Festival]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2019/10/04/dirty-god-van-sacha-polak-wint-het-belangrijkste-gouden-kalf-a3975732|title=Dirty God van Sacha Polak wint het belangrijkste Gouden Kalf|website=NRC|language=nl|access-date=2019-10-15}}</ref> The lead actress in the film, [[Vicky Knight]], won a BAFTA Breakthrough Brits award for new talent at the 2019 [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts award]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/supporting-talent/breakthrough-brits/breakthrough-brits-2019|title=Breakthrough Brits 2019|date=30 October 2019|website=British Academy Film Awards|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101134032/http://www.bafta.org/supporting-talent/breakthrough-brits/breakthrough-brits-2019#vicky-knight--actor|archive-date=1 November 2019|access-date=29 October 2020}}</ref>
==Personal life== Polak's mother died of [[breast cancer]] 11 months after she was born.<ref>{{cite web|title=VIFF 2014 Review: New Boobs|url=https://jontheblogcentric.wordpress.com/tag/sacha-polak/|accessdate=15 June 2015}}</ref>
Director [[Meral Uslu]] is her step-mother.
==Filmography== *''[[Hemel (film)|Hemel]]'' (2012) *''Zurich'' (2015) * ''[[Dirty God]]'' (2019) * [[Hanna (TV series)|''Hanna'']] (2019-2021) * ''[[Silver Haze (film)|Silver Haze]]'' (2023)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/film/438155/ |title= ''Silver Haze'' |first= Sacha|last= Polak |date=13 February 2023|access-date=13 February 2023 |website= Cineuropa |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|2383508}}
{{authority control}} {{Golden Calf for Best Director}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Polak, Sacha}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Dutch women film directors]] [[Category:1982 births]]