Country: Poland | Category: Fiction | Year of production: 2023 | Duration: 100’ | In Polish with Ukrainian and English subtitles

WHAT IS THE FILM ABOUT?

Tymek is a successful pianist who comes from Warsaw to his hometown for summer vacation, where time has stopped, seemingly. His younger brother Jacek is also a talented pianist, but instead of planning for the future, he kills time goofing off with his friends. Tymek joins the group of old friends but quickly realises that the provincial routine is foreign to him. In a vortex of booze, soft drugs, shameful homophobic jokes and mockery of migrants, he is a silent observer who lacks the courage to break the cycle of violence that is about to explode.

Why is it a must-see?

“Bread and Salt” is a story about otherness and the feeling of isolation in a community to which you belong and do not belong simultaneously. It is about the fear of being in the minority amid an aggressive majority and about the choice of passive contemplation, which leads to dire consequences. Non-professional actors perform the main roles in the film, and the plot is inspired by a real story, which gives the film a documentary-like feeling – as if we are spying on the characters’ lives. The debut film of the director, Damian Kocur, is often compared by critics to the works of Gus Van Sant and Michael Haneke.

About the director

Damian Kocur is an emerging Polish director who drew attention with his brilliant short films, distinguished by their rough style and radicalism. After a successful full-length debut at the Venice Film Festival, he showed another short at Cannes (made in collaboration with the Ukrainian director Anastasia Solonevych) and is already working on his second feature film.

Awards and nominations

Special jury price, 79th Venice Film Festival