Mug / Twarz follows a man (played by Mateusz Kościukiewicz), who lost his face in an accident and undergoes an innovative surgery to get a new one. When he comes back to his hometown, people don't know how to treat him. He becomes a stranger.
"It is a symbolic tale about what it means to change somebody's face, how people react to this process and how much significance we attach to the way we look. Does changing the way you look change who you are or not? And is it as important, as we think it is?", Małgorzata Szumowska told FNE.
The cast of popular actors includes Mateusz Kościukiewicz, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Małgorzata Gorol, Anna Tomaszewska, Dariusz Chojnacki, Robert Talarczyk, Roman Gancarczyk, Iwona Bielska, Martyna Krzysztofik, Krzysztof Czeczot and Krzysztof Ibisz.
Szumowska's long-term co-cinematographer Michał Englert co-wrote the script together with her and he also lensed the film. The soundtrack includes songs by Metallica. The film was shot on location in Krakow and Rożnow (a small village in the Małopolska region) in June 2017. The film was produced by Nowhere and the Krakow Festival Office. The budget was 1.4 m EUR / 6.1 m PLN with 598,000 EUR / 2.5 m PLN of production financing from the Polish Film Institute.
Mug premiered internationally in the competition of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear for best director. The film was released domestically by Kino Świat on 6 April 2018 and has sold 183,236 tickets to date.
Production Information:
Krakow Festival Office
http://en.biurofestiwalowe.pl
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Credits:
Director: Małgorzata Szumowska
Scriptwriters: Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert
DoP: Michał Englert
Cast: Mateusz Kościukiewicz, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Małgorzata Gorol, Anna Tomaszewska, Dariusz Chojnacki, Robert Talarczyk, Roman Gancarczyk, Iwona Bielska, Martyna Krzysztofik, Krzysztof Czeczot, Krzysztof Ibisz