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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 (Director, Screenplay), Michał Englert (Screenplay)
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

Paris, France

Memento Films International

75010 Paris, France

Produced by

Nowhere

Warschau, Poland

Photos

Press Conference

Red Carpet

Daniel Mann

Daniel Mann is a London-based filmmaker and writer. His work often interrogates the material politics of land, particularly in the contexts of colonialism and nationalism. His films have been screened at festivals, including the Berlinale, IFFR, Visions du Réel, Cinema du Réel, DocLisboa and the ICA in London. His recent film, Under a Blue Sun, received the International Jury Prize at Documenta Madrid. Mann is also the author of the books “Occupying Habits” and the forthcoming “Hot Location: Cinema on the Planetary Frontier”, and a lecturer in film studies at King’s College London.

Filmography (Filmography)

2009 Complex 2011 Future Diaries 2015 The Birdman 2018 Motza El Hayam (Low Tide) 2019 Salarium 2021 The Magic Mountain 2024 Mitahat Le Shemesh Khula (Under a Blue Sun) 2026 The Recce; Forum Expanded 2026

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026