Obedience Isn’t The Opposite Of Power: Pola Rader
In times when feminism is on the brink of transformation, it is often shamed and misunderstood. Pola Rader’s work asks us to do something difficult: to listen. But instead of focusing on the words, she invites us to listen to silence.
Silence isn’t emptiness. To Pola, it’s a form of language. It’s resistance. It’s faith. Born in Russia, now based in Germany, Pola represents one of the most powerful voices shaping the artistry and filmmaking rooted in the pursuit of freedom. Pola grew up in a world where silence and obedience were the most sacred virtues. “Icon & Mirror” allows us to explore that world and experience the tension for ourselves - to speak or to stay silent.
To Speak or To Stay Silent
Pola was raised between two worlds: the rigid obedience of Orthodox Russia and Western individualism. In Russia, silence is an innate element of culture that women are taught to obey. But to Pola, it felt like disappearing. It created tension. In her work, she explores a question few dare to ask: What does faith mean when silence is both oppressive and a mode of survival?
The women of Vorozneh feel that tension every day.
In Icon and Mirror, Pola created a series of photographs that explore the role of women in a traditional Orthodox culture. Through the vividly ornamented photographs, Pola invites the audience into the intimate world of women in Vorozneh, Russia. As she says when asked about the location choice, “I looked for a place with deep Orthodox roots - schools, seminaries, women’s health centres. Vorozneh was alive, and I felt it”. In studying the pictures, we are transported in time and location that feel familiar yet oddly misunderstood. As Pola admitted, visiting Vorozneh required her to adjust as she needed to stop being a stranger and start uncovering incredible stories behind the silence.
We meet the subjects of Icon and Mirror living their everyday lives - praying, reading, visiting the elderly or caring for the youngest. Standing proud, tall and dignified, they navigate the world of obedience in the most noble way. They know that worth isn’t based on being seen - it comes from within their inner strength. Realising that dynamic helped Pola understand the deeper meaning of power. What’s unspoken isn’t absent, it’s encoded in posture, ritual and gaze.
A young, beautiful, statuesque woman, lost in thought, lovingly ties a scarf around the head of a little girl, perhaps her daughter. The colourful, elegant dresses and headscarves, pink and blue, perfectly contrast with the chipped and shabby walls of khram - church. Yet upon another look, something more unsettling and eerie draws our attention. It’s the silent symbol of obedience, passed from generations, paired with the expression of surrender from the little girl. Has she just unknowingly entered the hidden circle of womanhood - obedient and silent.
For women of Vorozneh, obedience isn’t the opposite of power: it’s a way to survive.
A girl, her mother and grandmother sit together in a room where time feels stuck - in a crocheted blanket, in lacquered bookshelves, beautiful wooden floors. Our gaze goes towards an elderly woman in a wheelchair, looking up, lost in thought. Then it jumps to a little girl, sitting obediently next to her mother, looking attentively at her grandmother. In silence, we instantly feel their emotions. The power of this scene lies not in words; it appears from the posture of a girl, her mother’s troubled gaze. Is she currently thinking of weighing her mother’s health against her daughter’s future?
In that room, where presence speaks louder than words, something else emerges: a sense of inheritance, silent roles passed down the generations. Women of Vorozneh and women around the world alike have learned how to communicate and support each other above the rules and expectations of a man-made society.
Through Pola’s interview, we hear a heartbreaking story of a woman who, having four children on her own, decided to adopt four more, all whilst juggling a demanding career. However, the world as she knew it changed after her son’s cancer diagnosis. Her ambitions and autonomy were curtailed as she decided to fully dedicate herself to her family and leave the career she had worked tirelessly for. She came from an already privileged status as the wife of an Orthodox priest. She used her position, rare as a priest’s wife, to build safe spaces for women. Still, she was challenged by men quoting the Bible, saying that “only men can lead” in the Church. Her response? Let the men head their own church, but it has its limits. But women? They are and will always be the most important part of society, no matter what the Bible says.
Silence is not emptiness; it’s a form of language.
It is in Vorozneh that Pola learned how to listen with her whole body. Earlier, she used her voice publicly to express her feminism. But it’s not just about that anymore. She learned to perceive it as something wide and persistent - a spell, calming meaning, even in silence. That silence is the most powerful thing, as it taught Pola to use her voice wisely and no longer adhere to the rules just because “that’s how things are”. Naming things, even when uncomfortable, is an act of care and resistance.
But is that resistance at odds with faith? According to Pola, “faith is alive and women always reshaped it - through lived practice and quiet interpretation”. Institutions and churches are slow to change, but people inside them evolve continuously. Women are not breaking religion; they are inhabiting it fully, yet differently. They have created a form of faith and language that works for them within the sacred context.
“Icon and Mirror” is an example of art that carries an important role: to preserve the stories of women who continue to inspire. Those formidable characters have built support structures and communities within the constraints of a world built for them.
Asked about the message she would like to convey to the women in her story, Pola said, “I want them to know that they were seen. Not as symbols, but as themselves. Their quiet lives radiate outward as they continue to carry their strength inside, and it’s powerful - sometimes all we need is a new view of ourselves to see that.”
Today, Pola continues to explore the world of storytelling - this time telling the stories of women affected by domestic violence through a feature film where narrative meets surrealism, sharing them with care and depth.
As she dashed off the call to join her friend’s vernissage, we couldn’t shake off the feeling of an invisible bond created by sharing stories. They stay with us, rooted in a shared understanding of a well-deserved recognition and most importantly - showing us how to listen.
Pola Rader
German-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.
https://polarader.com/ - Visit Pola Rader’s website to learn about her work and life
https://www.instagram.com/pola_rader/ - Follow her on IG
