Tonia

Director Marcin Bortkiewicz is no stranger to the FFC, having featured back in 2016 with his chamber play-like feature film debut WALPURGIS NIGHT - a dialogue with an ageing opera diva who survived the concentration camps as the playmate of an SS man. Just like back then, Bortkiewicz also varies the tone between burlesque and existentialism in his new film, surprising his audience with shifts from emotional depth to slapstick and back whilst all the while avoiding any sense of frivolity. A well-judged mix of styles from Poland, almost certainly influenced by Bortkiewicz' experiences as a father of four children and as the husband of a psychiatrist; as well as his basic attitude that "people (are) funny (…), which isn’t to say that we don't also deserve compassion, or that we aren’t dramatic at times” (https://www.laf.org.pl/tonia). With TONIA he demonstrates how a good dose of humour can help to make this discrepancy that bit more bearable.

Weltspiegel (large hall), Glad-House: original version with English subtitles + German simultaneous translation