The famous Polish director will meet her fans film lovers at the FIPRESCI Masterclass at the Polish Institute in Sofia
The International Federation of Film Critics' prestigious FIPRESCI Platinum Award will be presented to Malgorzata Szumowska at the 28th Sofia International Film Festival on 15 March at the Lumiere Cinema, when she will personally present her latest film, "Woman of...", nominated for the "Golden Lion" at Venice, to the festival audience. On the 16th of March a special Masterclass will take place at the Polish Institute in Sofia, moderated by a film critic from FIPRESCI.
With her film "Mug", screened at the 23rd Sofia Film Festival, Małgorzata Szumowska confirms her strong presence among the bright names in contemporary European cinema. Her work won the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the 2018 Berlinale. Szumowska received recognition at the prestigious world cinema forum back in 2015 with "Body", which won the directing award. Her film "Elles" with Juliette Binoche was distributed in over 40 countries worldwide and "33 Scenes from Life" received a special jury prize "Silver Leopard" in Locarno. The Teddy Award at the Berlinale was awarded to "In the Name of...", and the director's first films "Happy Man" and "Stranger" received nominations for "Discoveries of the Year" at the European Film Awards.
Michal Englert is the creative partner of the renowned Polish director, screenwriter and producer on the film "Woman of...".
"Woman of...” is a really important film for us, the result of years of work and countless meetings with transgender people of all ages who have lived in Poland for decades and who trusted us implicitly to tell their stories. Aniela, who has lived almost half her life as a man in a provincial town, traversing the difficult road to freedom, seemed to us the right metaphor for the transition in Poland and a reflection of the society that once united in Solidarity to overthrow the communist regime," say Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert.
"Woman of..." is a sincere and moving story of courage and survival - not only because of the protagonist's determined journey through hardship toward personal emancipation, but also because of the degrees of gradual acceptance by the people she loves. "Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert bring compassion and a generously large canvas to a story that very much needs to be told in a country with still no law on gender recognition," Variety wrote in its review.
The FIPRESCI Platinum Award was first presented in 2015 in Bari on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the FIPRESCI International Film Critics Association. The prestigious award was then given to filmmakers as Alan Parker, Costa-Gavras, Ettore Scola, Margarete von Trotta, Andrzej Wajda and Jean-Jacques Annaud. The FIPRESCI Platinum has been awarded to world cinema authors at several other festivals around the world over the years, one of which is the Sofia International Film Festival. Film artists such as Béla Tarr, Goran Pascalević, Bille August, Agnieszka Holland, Terry Gilliam, Ildiko Ennedi and Cristi Puiu have been presented with the special FIPRESCI Platinum award in Sofia.
Malgorzata Szumowska's guest appearance and the presentation of the film "Woman of..." are in partnership with the Polish Institute in Sofia.
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