Best of The Fests

MUG
TWARZ

• Director: Malgorzata Szumowska
• POLAND / 2018 / DCP / Colour / 91´ / Polish; Turkish, English s.t.

• Screenplay: Malgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert
• Director of Photography: Michal Englert
• Editing: Jacek Drosio
• Cast: Mateusz Kościukiewicz, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Malgorzata Gorol, Roman Gancarczyk, Dariusz Chojnacki, Robert Talarczyk
• Producer: Jacek Drosio
• Production Co.: Nowhere
• World Sales: Memento Films
• Turkish Rights: Bir Film

- 2018 BERLİN Grand Jury Prize

Malgorzata Szumowska, who received the Teddy Award with In the Name Of... and the Silver Bear for Best Director with Body at the Berlinale, is making an in-depth critic of identity and society through a facial-transplant in her latest Mug, which is awarded the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Berlinale. The protagonist of the film is Jacek, a heavy metal fan who dreams of escaping his life in small town Poland. After an accident working at the construction site of the largest statue of Christ in the world, Jacek becomes the first person in Poland to receive a face transplant. Everyone starts treating Jacek differently after that. Szumowska showcases a serious approach informed by deadpan humour towards the politics of identity, body and society, and describes her film as “a fairytale for adults.”

This film was a Meetings on the Bridge participant.