sonyamoria
Artist, international film producer, and activist. She has been working in film independently for over 7 years now, supporting numerous NGOs and social movements with her art and skills. Her work has been exhibited in several countries in Europe. She took part in documentary film projects and sets in Europe and Asia, in countries like Poland, Spain, Sweden, Indonesia, Philippines.
my story
2013-2016
​
I studied communication design at University of Wrocław, in the most progressive faculty on the campus - constantly doing practical, market-ready projects but also getting the theoretical background in post-modernist thought. I learned a lot about media discourses, gender inequality, and systemic oppression.
In the third year, I started to parallely study Journalism and Social Communication at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities where on top of more communication theory I got practical classes and projects about film, radio, and tv production.
I was one of the most ambitious students, active in multiple student associations, presiding over one during my final year, gaining praise for my projects and ideas. I also started to work as an assistant manager for an orchestra in WrocÅ‚aw’s National Forum of Music, until it turned out….. It was not at all healthy.
I experienced first-hand how the immense pressure on women in our society and the unrealistic standards we’re expected to keep take their toll. My third year was also partly the struggle with depression.
​
2016-2018
​
I moved to Indonesia on a university scholarship - the drastic change of environment was great for my mental health. I was based in Bandung, Java. I studied visual communication and Indonesian culture at UNIKOM Bandung. I also traveled around Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. I spent half of one year in Bali, where I worked for WOW - an NGO researching Balinese culture to apply its indigenous practices for the sustainable development of modern societies. Slow life close to abundant nature and ancient cultures, as well as taking part in Balinese rituals, also helped me to reconnect with my Spirituality.
But 1,5 years into my stay I started to wonder if I was in the right place. My climate awareness increased drastically - I’ve seen so much pollution on Indonesian beaches and mountains. Having lived and traveled in the Global South I’ve witnessed how social inequalities manifest in our societies. At some point I fell sick - literally, I had a fever and felt very weak. My body was telling me to stop and go inside. I've spent some days laying in bed and meditating with recurring questions in mind: what am I doing? How can I best serve the world? What is my mission on this planet?
And the answer came to me, like that. I will become a documentary filmmaker - I will take this immensely powerful tool, motion picture (gaining even more power with the technology development), and my talent for visual art, to tell important stories.
Increase the visibility of underrepresented people and other beings. I started gaining experience immediately by creating documentary videos about Balinese culture and documenting a series of indigenous festivals in the Philippines for WOW. Half a year later I came back to Europe - I felt that I needed to make an impact where I held the most cultural power and where the biggest change needs to happen.
2018-2021
​
After coming back to Poland I finished my bachelor's in Journalism and Social Communication and accomplished a master's in Culture Studies. I had a new feeling brewing in me: rage. I needed to engage more, do something against the vast inaction towards the ongoing climate emergency. 2019 was the rise of global climate movements. I joined Extinction Rebellion and channeled all of my strong emotions into activism: community organizing, media and communication work, non-violent civil disobedience, event production, and giving workshops. It was a time of immense learning, aligning with my values and growth.
I quickly realized that what is most aligned with me is not loudly protesting in the streets but building a regenerative culture - revolutionizing the way we relate to nature, ourselves, and others. After dedicating my 100% to the climate fight, offering all of my skills and energy for over a year, I also realized that I will contribute the most to the cause if I realign with my mission. I co-founded Inseparate Films collective, a horizontally organized group of filmmakers with whom I began the production of a feature documentary, an intimate portrait of four climate activists - we were shooting for two years in Poland, Sweden, and Germany (the movie is currently in postproduction). I moved to Spain for half a year to study gender equality and documentary filmmaking and live on permaculture farms. I filmed a short movie about the emergence of a regenerative ecovillage.
2022-2023
​
After coming back to Poland in 2022 I founded Wezbranie - a community-oriented hydrofeminist film festival. It was part of an international project - besides producing a festival, I also coordinated an artistic collaboration of painters who created murals depicting womxn migrating due to climate reasons and a creation of an educational smartphone app about their experience.
That same year I was hired for RoślinnieJemy - the biggest and most effective plant-based campaign in Poland, which I joined out of my need to join an experienced creative team and practice my communication design skills. In 1,5 years of work I coordinated and co-organized two editions of the international Plant-Powered Perspectives conference, organized a gala for best product awards, curated a plant-based issue of a prestigious magazine for chefs, Food Service, and coordinated a series of media articles on top of regular communications work.
In 2023 I organised several music events (Wezbranie afterparty, Zanurzenie, Totemia, Vimana) where I also leveled up my years-long passion for vjing.
In March I shot and edited my first post-pxrn short film, Sama Się Kocham, directed by Marta Młot. It premiered at Post-Pxrn Festival Warsaw and is now screened in European festivals (Porto - Beast International Festival, Berlin - Porn Film Festival, Poznań - Rozkosz Festival, Amsterdam Porn Film Festival).
​
Currently, I have another two movies coming and I find immense revolutionary power in the erotic art, liberating us from the systemic oppression by re-owning the right to our bodies and taking pleasure from them.
​
I also joined an organizing team of Krwawnik Festival, the first Polish menstrual festival, which first edition happened in October 2023, and 2024 will bring three more. I continue to create radical feminist spaces and narrations.