Venice Competition Entry ‘Woman Of’ Paints Decades-Spanning Portrait of a Polish Trans Woman’s Struggle to Be Free
Christopher Vourlias A decades-spanning portrait of a transgender Polish woman on a journey of self-discovery is at the heart of Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s “Woman Of,” the latest from the two-time Berlin Silver Bear winner (“Body,” “Mug”) and her longtime collaborator.
The film premieres Sept. 8 in competition at the Venice Film Festival. Written by the directing duo, “Woman Of” tells the story of Aniela Wesoły, who for almost half her life has lived as a man in a provincial Polish town.
Struggling against the social mores of her conservative community, Wesoły must overcome obstacles in marriage and parenthood and test strained family bonds in the process of becoming who she truly is — despite the many sacrifices she has to make along the way.
Encompassing nearly half a century in the life of its protagonist, and in the history of a country in the throes of its own tumultuous post-communist transformation, “Woman Of” is a deeply human story set against the backdrop of a society where transgender people are still fighting for basic rights. “It’s not a militant movie.
