Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present is a documentary film that follows the performance artist Marina Abramović as she prepares for her retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The film documents Abramović's life and career, as well as the preparation and execution of her most daring performance yet: a live, three-month-long piece called "The Artist Is Present," in which she sits quietly and motionless in the museum's atrium, inviting visitors to sit opposite her in silence.
As the film progresses, we see Abramović confronting the physical and emotional challenges of her grueling performance, as well as the reactions of the museum-goers who sit across from her. The film also delves into Abramović's personal life, including her tumultuous relationship with fellow artist Ulay and her childhood growing up in Communist Yugoslavia.
At its heart, Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present is a meditation on the nature of performance art, the limits of the human body and the power of art to connect people across cultures and generations. Through candid interviews with Abramović and her collaborators, as well as intimate footage of her work, the film offers an in-depth look at one of the most influential and provocative artists of our time.