Dreflix: Rolanda Polonsky, Sculptor

Rolanda Polonsky, Sculptor

Enter the imaginative world of acclaimed sculptor Rolanda Polonsky, who had been a resident of Netherne Psychiatric Hospital in Coulsdon, Surrey for 26 years when this film was made. One of the positive aspects of her illness, described in the film as a schizophrenia, is that it "tapped a deep source of mystical vision and human feeling" which finds expression in her work.

1971

0h 10min

Top Billed Cast

Rolanda Polonsky
Herself

Similar movies

Maria: Don't Forget I Come From the Tropics
Maria: Don't Forget I Come From the Tropics
16 Nov 2017
Maria: Don't Forget I Come From the Tropics
An examination of the relationship between the life and art of Maria Martins, now recognized as one of the greatest Brazilian sculptors, in addition to her engravings and texts. The film reveals the greatness of her work and her boldness when dealing directly with the feminine perspective of sexuality, a transgression that led to attacks by Brazilian critics. In parallel, her life as the wife of an important diplomat and her connection to Marcel Duchamp, in a relationship of mutual collaboration between the two artists.
Executing the Insane: The Case of Scott Panetti
Executing the Insane: The Case of Scott Panetti
01 Jan 2007
Executing the Insane: The Case of Scott Panetti
Scott Panetti was tried for the capital murder of his parents-in-law on September 8, 1992 in Gillespie County, Texas. He was subsequently sentenced to death on September 22, 1995. Panetti has an extensive history of mental illness, including schizophrenia, manic depression, auditory hallucinations and paranoia. Panetti was hospitalized, both voluntarily and involuntarily for mental illness fourteen times in six different hospitals before his arrest for capital murder in 1992. Following his conviction, Panetti’s former wife, and daughter of the victims, Sonja Alvarado, filed a petition stating that Panetti never should have been tried for the crimes as he was suffering from paranoid delusions at the time of the killings.
Bronwyn Oliver: The Shadows Within
Bronwyn Oliver: The Shadows Within
13 Oct 2021
Bronwyn Oliver: The Shadows Within
This intimate documentary follows the journey of Bronwyn Oliver, a working-class girl from the country who became one of Australia's most influential contemporary sculptors.
Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405
Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405
14 Oct 2016
Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405
56-year-old artist Mindy Alper has suffered severe depression and anxiety for most of her life. For a time she even lost the power of speech, and it was during this period that her drawings became extraordinarily articulate.
Mini: A Life Revisited
Mini: A Life Revisited
29 Oct 2013
Mini: A Life Revisited
1975 documentary about 11-year-old serial arsonist Michael 'Mini' Cooper, followed by Cooper and the film's director Franc Roddam in conversation with Alan Yentob in 2013.
Billy
Billy
17 Apr 2024
Billy
Billy is a film buff who films himself non-stop. During a film shoot, he meets Lawrence Côté-Collins and the two become friends. One night, he assaults her. Years later, in prison for the deaths of two people, Billy is diagnosed with schizophrenia. With the help of the filmmaker, his only remaining relationship apart from his family, his personal archives become an invaluable resource for understanding his illness. A formal deconstruction of schizophrenia through a remarkably open-minded gaze.
Saved From The Waters
Saved From The Waters
07 Oct 2018
Saved From The Waters
A biographical documentary about Moisés Avendaño, artist, athlete, sportsman, adventurer, and doctor from Veracruz, Mexico. Seen from his golden years, until his imminent encounter with Parkinson's disease, in the present.
Into Madness
Into Madness
06 Jul 1989
Into Madness
Initially airing on HBO's "America Undercover" series, this riveting documentary focuses on three families shattered by the psychiatric disorder of schizophrenia. Subjects "Bob," "Missy" and "Steven" have lived for over a decade with schizophrenia. The film documents the difficult day-to-day existence of both those afflicted with this order and the families searching for answers to their loved ones' suffering. This film also shows the varied and variably successful treatment methods for each of the subjects—one is placed in a group home, one is placed in an institution, and one is cared for at home. The documentary was critically acclaimed for its compassionate treatment of mental illness.
Painting with 14 Personalities
Painting with 14 Personalities
20 Mar 2012
Painting with 14 Personalities
British artist Kim Noble talks about the reality of living with dissociative identity disorder and shows us the artwork created by 14 of her personalities. "I'm Patricia, I don't like being called Kim, but I have got used to it now."
They Heard Voices
They Heard Voices
14 Dec 2016
They Heard Voices
THEY HEARD VOICES is a documentary film exploring the Hearing Voices Movement, chronic psychosis, and the schizophrenia label. The film is a series of wide-ranging interviews with voice hearers, medical historians, anthropologists and psychiatrists from Britain and America, presenting different people’s views. Is schizophrenia hard science or an arbitrary, catch-all term with no real meaning? What does it mean for those experiencing psychosis?
Lamp
Lamp
09 Sep 2003
Lamp
Short documentary of David Lynch building a lamp.
Asylum: A History of the Mental Institution in America
Asylum: A History of the Mental Institution in America
01 Jan 1989
Asylum: A History of the Mental Institution in America
The complex and controversial history of the mental institution in the U.S. through a detailed study of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Born Schizophrenic: Jani's Next Chapter
Born Schizophrenic: Jani's Next Chapter
03 Jun 2012
Born Schizophrenic: Jani's Next Chapter
Jani is one of the youngest children ever diagnosed with schizophrenia. At age 9, she's seen great improvements and some setbacks. But now her parent's attention turns toward her brother, Bodhi. At age 4, is he showing signs of schizophrenia too?
Tarnation
Tarnation
19 Oct 2003
Tarnation
Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life.
Art Lives Series: Joan Miro
Art Lives Series: Joan Miro
02 Jan 1978
Art Lives Series: Joan Miro
With his seemingly naïve, symbolic paintings, Joan Miró formed a new artistic language in the 20th century. Brought up in Barcelona, the painter, graphic artist and sculptor was drawn to Paris and, under the influence of the surrealists, developed his unique style and poetic imagery that unite Catalan folk art and fantastic elements. Robin Lough followed the 85-year-old Miró to theatre rehearsals and went to see him in his studio on Majorca. There he met with an amazingly creative and disciplined artist, whose visionary pictures paved the way for abstract expressionism.
César
César
21 Jan 1971
César
In 1971, Jean-Daniel Pollet & Guy Seligmann directed for French TV a documentary about French artist César Baldaccini. It was part of L'invité du dimanche show.
That Way Madness Lies...
That Way Madness Lies...
11 May 2017
That Way Madness Lies...
One woman and her family trek the broken mental health system in an effort to save her brother as he descends into madness. Beginning as a testimony of his sanity, his iPhone video diary ultimately becomes an unfiltered look at the mind of an untreated schizophrenic.
Masters of Modern Sculpture Part II: Beyond Cubism
Masters of Modern Sculpture Part II: Beyond Cubism
30 Dec 1978
Masters of Modern Sculpture Part II: Beyond Cubism
Centered around the emergence of Constructivism, Futurism, Surrealism and Dada, Beyond Cubism takes a closer look at the artists who ignited the new movements and the alterations of artistic culture brought forth by World War II. Creating out of their philosophy and ideology, artists such as Vladimir Tatlin, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore pushed sculpture to new limits of abstraction and possibility, feverently building on their predecessors.
Masters of Modern Sculpture Part III: The New World
Masters of Modern Sculpture Part III: The New World
31 Dec 1978
Masters of Modern Sculpture Part III: The New World
The Masters of Modern Sculpture series concludes with a look at post- World War II America, where sculpture became a deeply innovative art form. Using the objects at their disposal and the inspiration surrounding them, artists such as George Rickey, Claes Oldenburg, and Louise Nevelson cast sculptor in a new light. The New World observes the sculptors creatively utilizing wood, metals, and junkyard finds, bringing forth lively and shocking work. America's remote spaces, discarded objects and abundant materials enabled them to add to the concepts of European modernism in daringly unique ways.
Guido Magnone - The Artist
Guido Magnone - The Artist
01 Jan 1997
Guido Magnone - The Artist
Guido Magnone designs cardboard boxes by hand for his parents' small business. A painter friend loves his brushwork and pushes him to attend the Beaux Arts. He takes an external competition, wins it, befriends the sculptors César and Féraud, surrealists, a handful of bohemians. He then discovered the mountain and quickly became one of the best climbers of his generation. He made prestigious conquests such as the west face of the Drus in the Alps, the first ascents of Fitz Roy in Patagonia with Lionel Terray or Makalu in the Himalayas... Magnone also participated in the creation of the UCPA and will be president of the Groupe de Haute Montagne from 1961 to 1965. From 1977, Guido returned to his first passion: sculpture, to devote himself fully to it around 1990. He began to exhibit again in 1996. In 2002, he exhibited his sculptures in Paris , Bourg-la-Reine, Aosta then in Etroubles in 2009.