Biography
Pola Rader is a Germany-based film director and visual artist with Russian roots.
She studied English and French philology at the Murmansk Arctic State University, Russia (2004–2009), and later completed a BA in Film and Theatre Studies at the Free University of Berlin (2014). In 2019, she earned her MA in Film from the University of Fine Arts HFBK Hamburg.
Her work spans film, animation, photography, and immersive installations, often combining different media to explore social themes through a poetic interplay of reality and surrealism.
Rader is co-founder of the media art collective multicArts and curator of the experimental film forum BLICKFANG at FilmFest Schleswig-Holstein (Kiel, Germany). She is also the founder of NAVERNA, a studio dedicated to progressive, artistically driven animation and short films for both children and adults.
Artist Statement
Pola Rader’s multidisciplinary practice explores identity, memory, and feminist perspectives through a unique visual language combining film, photography, and immersive installations. Her work weaves personal and political histories into subtly surreal narratives, blending documentary realism with poetic and playful elements that invite fresh reflections on time’s impermanence and human experience.
By integrating diverse media with a distinctive aesthetic approach, Rader crafts evocative environments that challenge perceptions and reveal nuanced emotional landscapes. Her art critically engages with issues of equality and power while maintaining an inventive and spirited sensibility.
Education
2019 | University of the Fine Arts Hamburg HFBK, Master of Fine Arts, Film
2014 | Free University of Berlin, bachelor degree in film and theatre studies
2009 | Murmansk Arctic State University, teaching degree for English and French philology
Awards
2022 | CineStar-Award at 64th Nordic Film Days for the short film "And Died Together One Day", Lübeck, Germany
2022 | Gesa-Rautenberg film award 2022 for "Habitat", FilmFest Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
2021 | Gesa-Rautenberg film award 2021 for "And Died Together One Day", FilmFest Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
2021 | Audience award 2021 for "And Died Together One Day", FilmFest Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
2019 | Shortlist, Felix Schoeller Photo Award “Best Work by an Emerging Photographer”, Germany
2019 | Shortlist, Boutographies, photo-competition, Montpellier, France
2016 | Nomination for film award „Serge Daney of diffusion”, Paris, France
2015 | Best short film Preis, international short film festival for social advertisement „Ladoshka“, Minsk, Belarus
Selected Shows
2025 | Short Film Corner, Cannes Film Festival, France (Category: Industry Showcase / Networking Platform)
2024 | 47th Drama International Short Film Festival (DISFF), Greece
2024 | 25th Landshut Short Film Festival, Germany
2022 | 64th Nordic Film Days, Lübeck, Germany
2022 | "Länskonstmuseum Autumn Tour" curated by The Contemporary Art Museum Konstmuseet i Norr, Kiruna, Sweden / "Habitat"
2022 | Debut Performance of "Unter Druck" immersive theatre Project within Lübeck Museum Night, St. Catherine's Church, Lübeck
2022 | Artfair ARTe Konstanz, Germany, Juli 2022
2021 | Présence autochtone / First Peoples Festival, Montréal, Canada
2021 | FilmFest Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
2021 | ILLUSTRATIO Lichtkunstfestival, Kiel, Germany
2021 | Athens digital Arts festival, TĀCTUS, Athens, Greece
2021 | HER Docs Film Festival, Warsaw, Poland
2021 | Hochkantfilmfest, media art open-air gallery, Bremen, Germany
2020 | solo exhibition, KirchenKAI Gallery, Kiel, Germany
2020 | Nordische Filmtage Lübeck, Germany
2020 | Regard Bleu Filmfestival, Völkerkunde Museum, Zürich, Switzerland
2019 | Lockvögel, Baby!, group exhibition, HFBK Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
2017 | Filmfest Schleswig-Holstein 2017, Kiel, Germany
2015 | Monsters of film, International short film festival, Stockholm, Sweden
2015 | International short film festival Detmold 2015, Detmold, Germany
2015 | Västerås film festival 2015, Västerås, Sweden
Selected Grants
2025 | EXIST Women Fellowship – Awarded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Germany) in support of NAVERNA, a space for progressive and artistically bold animation for children.
2025 | Production funding for short film Ultraviolet Damages the Screen by MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
2024 | Production funding for short animation Ozero Miry by MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
2023 | Production funding for children’s short film Beromut by MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
2022 | Prototype development funding for immersive project "Terra Media" by MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
2021 | Concept development funding by MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
2021 | Idea funding by MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Publications
https://mini-maven.com/iso-sun/
https://www.floatmagazine.us/portfolios/pola-rader-iso-sun
https://www.floatmagazine.us/portfolios/pola-rader
https://parabola.org/2019/08/13/icon-and-mirror-a-photo-project-by-pola-rader/
https://www.plough.com/en/topics/community/icon-and-mirror
http://www.squaremag.org/resources/PolaRader.pdf
http://ortaformat.org/icon-and-mirror-27