Fugue

Agnieszka Smoczyńska

Focus Poland 103 min Fiction

Synopsis

Alicja suffers from memory loss and has rebuilt her own free spirited way of life. Two years later, she returns to her family and unwillingly resumes her role as wife, mother and daughter. Her estranged husband and son do not recognize this woman who looks familiar, but behaves like a stranger. Feelings of alienation, love and revelations rekindle her interior flame. Fugue evokes the social taboos around motherhood and the pressure on women to accept maternity without hesitation or reflection, as though the biological capacity of giving birth means that every woman should be willing to be a mother.

Themes

European CinemaFemale DirectorFeminismThriller

Filmmaker

Agnieszka Smoczyńska

She is a graduate of the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice, Poland and has also participated in master classes at the Wajda Film School. She received a scholarship from The Minister of Culture and National Heritage for outstanding artistic achievement, the “My Talent for Poland” prize and the Golden Pen, awarded by the President of Poland. In 2015 her first feature film The Lure experimented with the musical and horror genres and was recognized as the best debut at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia. Smoczyńska was hailed as the “Discovery of the year” at the Polish Film Awards, and received numerous awards at festivals worldwide, including Fantasporto, Sofia, Montreal, Vilnius and Sundance.

Filmography: Fugue (2018, D'A 2022), The Field Guide to Evil (codirected, 2018), The Lure (2015), Viva Maria! (short, 2010), Aria diva (short, 2007)

Agnieszka Smoczyńska

Film information

Director: Agnieszka Smoczyńska
Script: Gabriela Muskala
Contact: Alpha Violet
With: Gabriela Muskała, Łukasz Simlat, Małgorzata Buczkowska, Zbigniew Waleryś, Halina Rasiakówna, Piotr Skiba, Iwo Rajski
Country: Poland
Year: 2018
Format: DCP
Length: 103 min
Language: Polish
Subtitles: Catalan
Edition: 2022

Awards

SITGES FILM FESTIVAL
Méliès d'Argent Award for the Best Film

POLISH FILM AWARDS
Discovery of the Year for screenplay

Poster

Fugue