TONIA

TONIA I THURSDAY 14/9/2023 6:45pm I THE BACKLOT PERTH

TONIA

comedy-drama I 2022 I Poland

THURSDAY 14/09/2023 6:45pm I THE BACKLOT PERTH

The long-awaited film from Marcin Bortkiewicz, director of the award-winning and critically acclaimed "Walpurgis Night" (PFF 2016). In the brilliantly played lead role is the director's daughter, Marianna Ame, making her debut on the big screen.

11-year-old Tonia is a really special girl. She’s clever and charming, with a head full of dreams and amazing ideas. Despite the many curveballs that life throws at her, she faces everyday problems with a smile on her face. Since her mother passed away, Tonia lives with her grandmother and her beloved father whose weakness for alcohol constantly lands him in trouble. When he loses his job again, grandma decides to send him away to work on a construction site in Italy for three months. Tonia will do everything in her power to foil this plan. 

"Tonia" is a collision of two worlds, the gray reality of a small town and the idealised fantasy world of a child who believes that in life - just like in cinema - everything is possible.

TONIA

Original Title: Tonia

Duration: 81 min

Language: Polish with English subtitles

Director: Marcin Bortkiewicz

Cast: Marianna Ame, Adam Bobik,Małgorzata Zajączkowska

WEBSITE: www.polishfilmfestival.org

"Marcin Bortkiewicz offers a film full of magic. In a seemingly modest story, he conjures up various conventions - there are moments for laughs and moments for more serious reflection. But "Tonia" is not a tearjerker, on the contrary - the film tries to remind us that "what doesn't kill us today will make us stronger tomorrow", and that we ourselves are responsible for our lives. Little Tonia will get to understand this very early." — Rzeczpospolita

"A thematically capacious cinema that winks at the viewer with childlike charm and verve. Light and pleasant, "Tonia" joyfully shows us a colorful world that revolves around fantasy, grandma, and beloved dad. And although the screen is dominated by a charming aura, the director is able to effectively, without warning, wake up from lethargy and hit us with poignant confessions. It's a picture for adults, but told from a child's perspective. A fleeting fairy tale that hits serious tones. — Movieway