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Twarz

Mug
Competition 2018
© Bartosz Mronzowski
Jacek loves heavy metal and his dog. He converts the country lanes outside his door into a racing track and bombs down them in his little car. When he and his girlfriend Dagmara take to the dancefloor, everyone runs for cover. He enjoys his existance as a cool misfit in an otherwise stuffy environment, and keeps his muscles toned working on a building site close to the Polish-German border where the world’s largest statue of Jesus is being constructed. But then his life is thrown badly off course by a terrible accident at work that completely disfigures him. Eagerly followed by the Polish media, Jacek becomes the first person in the country to receive a face transplant. He may be celebrated as a national hero and martyr, but he no longer recognises himself in the mirror. Meanwhile, the statue of Jesus grows taller and taller. Whilst events around Jacek come thick and fast, the film never loses sight of the bigger picture and instead brings things even more into focus. Twarz uses the format of an acerbic farce to consider conditions in modern-day Poland and explore life in the provinces, revealing a country that is busy setting its faith in stone.
by Małgorzata Szumowska
with Mateusz Kościukiewicz, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Małgorzata Gorol, Roman Gancarczyk, Dariusz Chojnacki, Robert Talarczyk, Anna Tomaszewska, Martyna Krzysztofik Poland 2018 Polish 91’ Colour World premiere

With

  • Mateusz Kościukiewicz (Jacek)
  • Agnieszka Podsiadlik (Jacek's sister)
  • Małgorzata Gorol (Dagmara)
  • Roman Gancarczyk (Priest)
  • Dariusz Chojnacki (Jacek's brother)
  • Robert Talarczyk (Jacek's brother-in-law)
  • Anna Tomaszewska (Jacek's mother)
  • Martyna Krzysztofik (Jacek's sister-in-law)

Crew

Director Małgorzata Szumowska
Screenplay Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert
Cinematography Michał Englert
Editing Jacek Drosio
Production Design Marek Zawierucha
Costumes Katarzyna Lewińska, Julia Jarża
Make-Up Waldemar Pokromski
Production Manager Dagmara Bagnecka
Producer Jacek Drosio
Executive Producer Inga Kruk

World Sales

Memento International

http://www.memento-films.com http://www.memento-films.com

Memento Films International

Produced by

Nowhere

http://www.nowherefilm.pl http://www.nowherefilm.pl

Photos

Press Conference

Red Carpet

Małgorzata Szumowska

© Zuza Krajewska

Born in Kraków, Poland in 1973, she graduated from the Polish National Film School in Łódź and went on to direct short films and documentaries before making her feature film debut in 2000 with Szczęśliwy człowiek (Happy Man). She won the Silver Leopard at Locarno in 2008 with 33 sceny z życia (33 Scenes from Life). Her films Ono (Stranger, 2004) and Elles (2011) both screened in the Berlinale Panorama. W imię... (In the Name of...) screened in Competition at the 2013 Berlinale and won the Teddy Award, while Body won the Silver Bear for Best Director in 2015.

Filmography

1998 Cisza 1999 Siedem lekcji milosci 2000 Szczęśliwy człowiek (Happy Man) 2001 Dokument...? 2004 Visions of Europe · Ono (Stranger) 2005 Mój tata Maciek · Solidarnosc, Solidarnosc... 2007 A czego tu się bać? (Nothing to be Scared of) 2008 33 sceny z życia (33 Scenes from Life) 2011 Elles 2012 W imię... (In the Name of...) 2015 Body 2018 Twarz (Mug)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2018