Set against the landscape of the Polish transformation from communism to capitalism, "Woman of..." spans 45 years of the life of Aniela Wesoły, who lives more than half of her adult life in a provincial Polish town as a man. Aniela's journey to find personal liberty as a trans woman reveals hardships in marriage and parenthood, strained family relations and complicated attitudes in her environment, which constantly place her in impossible situations. What choices will Aniela have to make? Will she be ready to sacrifice all to become who she truly is?
Original title: | KOBIETA Z... |
Country: | Poland, Sweden |
Year: | 2024 |
Time, min: | 132 |
Genre: | Drama |
Director: | Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert |
Starring: | Malgorzata Hajewska, Joanna Kulig |
Language: | Polish |
Subtitles: | Estonian, Latvian, English, Russian |
"Woman of..." is a film that tells a story of a mature trans woman living in Poland, who does not fit the social norms of a traditional family and does not feel that she’s at home in her own country. Aniela doesn’t have the right to her own body, because she lives in a system which both lawfully and socially is yet to catch up to a changing paradigm when it comes to gender recognition.
"Woman of..." is also about another difficult transition: the one that Poland has undergone over the last forty years. A society that had come together in solidarity to bring down an oppressive regime is now highly polarised and continues to hold out against introducing changes that have long become the norm in other parts of the world. During our lifetime, Poland has undergone a transformation from communism and reliance on Russia, to freedom, which as it turns out is a limited freedom for certain communities.
The title of "Woman of..." is a deliberate reference to renowned Polish director Andrzej Wajda (Man of Iron, Man of Marble). At this time when cinema is being replaced by content, directors Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert felt the strong need to tell Aniela's unique story, asking questions and referencing classic traits of the genre in its form.