MUG – Polish Film Festival in America

Obsada
Mateusz Kościukiewicz (Jacek), Agnieszka Podsiadlik (Jacek’s sister), Małgorzata Gorol (Dagmara), Anna Tomaszewska ( Jacek’s mother), Dariusz Chojnacki (Jacek’s brother), Robert Talarczyk (Jacek’s brother-in-law), Roman Gancarczyk (priest)

Jacek lives in a village in southern Poland with his sister and family. A Metallica fan, he has long hair and a mustache, and he wears leather pants and a denim vest. In his village, they think he is a weirdo, but in reality, he’s a cheerful person who loves people, animals, and the world around him. Recently Jacek has found himself a girlfriend, Dagmara, and together they plan their future and get engaged. But the life that Jacek has planned is disrupted by an accident. During construction work on the largest statue of Christ in the world, Jacek falls from a great height and loses his face. Jacek is given a face transplant, which saves his life. But when he returns to his village, he finds that people do not know how to react to him. He has become a stranger to them. This modern fairy tale about a person with a stigma raises questions about tolerance, the limits of freedom, and the meaning of roots and a one’s ties with their home. Based on a true story.

MAŁGORZATA SZUMOWSKA
Director and screenwriter. Born in 1973in Cracow. Studied a History of Art at Jagiellonian University in Cracow for two years. Graduated from the Directing Department of the National Film School in Łódź (1998). Recipient of many prestigious awards. She won the Silver Bear for Best Director for “Body” and for “Mug” (Berlin International Film Festival 2015 & 2018). In 2015 she was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit – the highest civilian award in Poland. Member of European Film Academy.

FILMOGRAPHY
2018 Mug (Twarz)
2015 Body (Ciało)
2013 In the Name of… (W imię…)
2012 Elles (Sponsoring)
2008 33 Scenes from Life (33 sceny z życia)
2006 A Nothing to Be Scared (Czego się bać?) – documentary
2005 Stranger (Ono)
2005 My Dad Maciek (Mój tata Maciek) – documentary
2005 Father [in:] Solidarity, Solidarity (Ojciec [w:] Solidarność, Solidarność)
2004 Crossroad (Skrzyżowanie)
2001 Document (Dokument) – documentary
2000 Happy Man (Szczęśliwy człowiek)
1997 Silence (Cisza) – documentary