Lea Glob (‘Apolonia, Apolonia’ director) on the importance of seeing ‘the struggle of a female artist’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
Danish filmmaker Lea Glob spent 13 years documenting French artist Apolonia Sokol. In that time, both women experienced joy and heartbreaking, all captured in Glob’s acclaimed documentary “Apolonia, Apolonia.” The film is on the shortlist for Best Documentary Feature at the 96th Academy Awards. In an exclusive video chat with Gold Derby (watch above), Glob explains why the film was so important to her: “In terms of what was important for me to capture and bring to an audience was that I had never really seen the struggle of a female artist.”
The film chronicles the French-born Sokol from her schooling to her ascent in the art world, where over time she becomes one of the most lauded artists of her generation. Also included in the film is Glob’s relationship with Sokol, as well as the director’s own health struggles after she almost died giving birth. The film is a quiet examination of female artists finding their voice in the world of art.
Glob argues that it was important to her that Sokol’s process was just as prominent in the film as the artist herself, with Glob arguing that audiences don’t often see female creativity represented. “For reasons of history, the male gaze on the world has been the dominant one,” she says. “Images are still so much tied to propaganda and the images that we see around us reflects that sort of worldview.”
Glob calls Sokol “a strong and extraordinary character,” describing her as someone who has worked tirelessly to create the reality that she envisioned for herself from a young age. “She had this ambition of becoming a painter in her own lifetime and to create for herself all the circumstances necessary for her paintings to survive,” she explains. ” Glob says Sokol encouraged the filmmaker create a film that “speaks about what it is to be a woman and what it is to be a female artist.”
In making her own health crises a part of the film, Glob admits that she wasn’t sure how Sokol would respond. “Luckily these issues are very important for Apolonia,” says Glob. “She immediately saw that by adding my own story, we speak together. We speak about so many things that are taboo.”
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