Video / Sculpture Installation CrashSite & Artist Katarina Poljak
Photo by Jamie Stow for 08057 Magazine, June 2026
Katarina Poljak is a Philadelphia-based interdisciplinary artist working across film, performance, and installation. Their films and performances have been presented at Tribeca Festival, the Kimmel Center, and Vox Populi Gallery. Their work engages with the entanglement of technology, consumer culture, and environmental collapse, positioning the body as a site of transformation, control, and resistance. In March 2026 Poljak premiered the video installation CrashSite, which will be displayed indefinitely at MOA Philly in Old City Philadelphia. Poljak premiered their debut feature film The Haunting of Pennhurst, in June 2026 supported by the Ford Foundation, Perspective Fund, Catapult Film Fund, and Sundance Institute. They are currently directing and editing a short dance film, Source Architecture and writing and performing a dance theater piece entitled The Holy Fool with Ninth Planet which will be featured in the 2026 Philadelphia Fringe Program.
FILMS
Source Architecture – Director, Producer | Jan 2027
The Haunting of Pennhurst – Co-Director, Producer | June 2026
Incredible Machine Glassbody – Director, Editor | May 2019
Metal Organism– Director, Editor | May 2018
Number 11 – Director, Editor | May 2017
INSTALLATIONS / EXHIBITIONS / PERFORMANCES
THE HOLY FOOL – Dance Theater | Writer, Choreographer, Performer
Ninth Planet - Philadelphia Fringe, Philadelphia PA | September 2026
CRASH SITE – Interactive Installation (AR / Sculpture / Dance/ Video) | Director, Sculptor
MOA Philly, Philadelphia, PA | March 2026
Test 087 – Dance /Sculptural Costume - Director
Philly Pack, Philadelphia, PA | 2024
Blacklisted – Dance / Video - Director, Performer
Icebox Project Space, Philadelphia, PA | 2023
Not a Toy – Performance Art / Video/ Sculpture - Director, Performer
Vox Populi Gallery, Philadelphia, PA | 2022
BODY: UNKOWN – Performance Art / Video Installation - Director, Performer
The Painted Bride, Dreams & Delusions Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA | 2022
SCREENINGS & FESTIVALS
Tribeca Film Festival – New York, NY – 2026
Nashville Film Festival – Nashville, TN – 2026
Backyard Docs – Pittsburg, PA – 2026
MotelX Lisbon International Film Festival – Philadelphia, PA – 2026
Phoenixville Film Festival – Phoenixville, PA – 2026
Icebox Project Space – Philadelphia, PA – 2023
ARFF Paris Around International Film Festival – Paris, France – 2020
Rethink Dance Film Festival – Fargo, North Dakota– 2020
Artfools Eco Fashion Film Festival – Larissa, Thessalía Greece –2020
Retro Avant Garde Film Festival – Venezia,Venezia –2020
Indie Short Fest – Philadelphia, PA –Los Angeles, CA – 2020
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts – Philadelphia, PA – 2018
AWARDS & SUPPORT
Catapult Momentum — Catapult Film Fund | Participant / Support, 2026
SFFILM Rainin Grant — SFFILM | Grant Recipient, 2025
Sundance Catalyst Forum | Participant / Fellow, 2025
Big Sky Documentary Pitch — Big Sky Documentary Film Festival | Pitch Participant, 2024
Perspective Fund | Supporter / Recipient, 2023
NAI Direct Access Fund — International Documentary Association | Grantee, 2023
Ford Foundation | Support, 2024
People’s Media Fund | Grant Recipient, 2023
Catapult Film Fund — Catapult Film Fund | Supporter / Recipient, 2022
The Scribe Independent Media Fund — Scribe Video Center | Grant Recipient, 2022
Come As Your Madness: Sculptural Fashion Show — Vox Populi Gallery | Muse of Madness, 1st Place Prize, 2022
ARFF Paris // International Film Festival | Best Experimental Film, 2020
Cult Critic Movie Awards | Best Experimental Film, 2020
Queen Palm International Film Festival | Best Short Film - Silent /Experimental, 2020
Queen Palm International Film Festival | Best Costume Design, 2020
LGBTQ Unbordered International Film Festival | Best Experimental Film, 2020
RELATED PROFESSIONAL WORK
Disabled Producers Apprenticeship Program —Presented by FWD-Doc & Multitude Films
Mentor / Instructor | 2025–2026
Course: Image and Performance — University of the Arts
Adjunct Professor, Film Department | 2023–2024
Patrice: The Movie —Hulu, Feature Documentary
Production Sound Mixer / Reenactment Choreographer | 2022 - 2024
COMMISSIONS / PUBLIC ART PROJECTS
Feels Like Home – Short Film | Co-Director, Co-Editor
Johns Hopkins Ideas Lab / Berman Institute of Bioethics | 2025
EDUCATION
The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Bachelor of Fine Arts – Dance & Film, 2019
BIBLIOGRAPHY (SELECTED)
NEW YORK TIMES - “Is It an Art Gallery? A Museum? A Theater? A Dream?” | 2026
SOUTH PHILLY REVIEW – “Local Artists Helping Shape the Ministry of Awe Experience” | 2026
AWARDS RADAR / Staff - “Feature Lineup Unveiled for 2026 Tribeca Festival” | 2026
BLOODY DISGUSTING / Meagan Navarro – “Tribeca Film Festival 2026 Unveils “Escape from Tribeca” Horror Lineup” | 2026
INDIEWIRE / Ryan Lattanzio – “Tribeca Festival Reveals 25th Anniversary Lineup with 103 World Premiere Features” | 2026
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER / Hilary Lewis – “Tribeca Festival 2026 Lineup: Katie Holmes-Joshua Jackson Reunion Movie ‘Happy Hours,’ Films With Susan Sarandon, Dustin Hoffman, Quentin Tarantino” | 2026
VARIETY – “Multitude Films, FWD-Doc and Pennhurst Fellowship Announcement” | 2025