Imago

It is 1987 and the wind of change will soon also be sweeping across communist Poland. Ela is a young woman seeking refuge from the insipidness of a life hallowed by the regime, mixing with artists on the alternative scene, singing in clubs with her post-punk band, and attending alcohol-fuelled parties… In her second film director Olga Chajdas summons up vital energy to invigorate the music scene of the Baltic Tricity and, aided by the charismatic actress and co-scripter Lena Góra, she offers the viewer a vivid portrait of a multilayered character – an inspirational artist forever enveloped in cigarette smoke, a woman struggling with her inner demons, yet also a fragile creature yearning for motherly love. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)