‘Woman of… - Małgorzata Szumowska & Michał Englert’

Woman of...  tells the story of Aniela Wesoly, and her experience as a transgender woman in a small, unwelcoming Polish town, between 1980 and 2022. The path to freedom as a trans woman reveals challenges in marriage, parenthood, family tensions, and complex interactions that place her in impossible situations. What choices and sacrifices will Aniela have to make?

Małgorzata Szumowska (1973) and Michał Englert (1975) have worked together since their years at the renowned Łódź Film School. After several short films that established Szumowska as a valuable voice in cinema, she went on to make her first feature film, Happy Man (2000). She went on to build a solid filmography in collaboration with Englert. Their notable works include Elles (starring Juliette Binoche), Body (Best Director at the Berlinale), and Mug (Grand Jury Prize at the same festival). In 2023, their last film, Woman of... was presented in the Venice Film Festival’s official competition.

This film is being shown as part of a Close-up dedicated to Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert.

Co-organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the international cultural program of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2025