“To make German men cry is no easy task”, just one of the many things audiences will learn when they watch Marina Abramović The Artist is Present. After premiering at The Sundance Festival, the film has been amazing people around the world and collecting prestigious awards such as Berlinale Audience Award and Best Documentary at Sheffield Doc Fest.
Director Matthew Akers is the first filmmaker to have such amazing access to the woman who has confronted and challenged the art world for the last 40 years. The result is an intimate portrayal of a formidable woman who has secured global stardom from the most abstract of art forms. Using her own body as a vehicle, pushing herself beyond her limits – and at times risking her life in the process – she creates performances that challenge, shock, and move us. Marina Abramović The Artist is Present follows the artist as she prepares for what may be the most important moment of her life: a major new retrospective of her work, taking place at The Museum of Modern Art. To be given a retrospective at one of the world's premier museums is the most exhilarating sort of milestone. For Marina, it is far more: it is the chance to finally silence the question she has been hearing over and over again for four decades: “But why is this art?”
Marina Abramović The Artist is Present open in UK cinemas, 6 July. Catch it at cinemas nationwide and find a full list of cinemas and ticket details on the film website www.marinafilm.co.uk