‘Monument’ Director Jagoda Szelc Talks Upcoming Feature ‘Voracious’

Polish director Jagoda Szelc, behind “Tower. A Bright Day” and “Monument” – which premiered at Berlinale and Rotterdam respectively – has revealed a first-look still of her anticipated feature under the working title “Voracious.”

Directed and written by Szelc, it’s based on an award-winning book by Małgorzata Lebda (“Łakome”), already published in the U.K., France, Serbia, Spain, the Netherlands and Finland.

In the story, Mauł (Izabella Dudziak) returns to her hometown village to care for her grandmother, who’s suffering from cancer. Her grandfather distances himself from the illness. As her condition worsens, Mauł reconnects with her past and the wild nature surrounding her. 

Dudziak is joined by Małgorzata Trofimiuk and Cezary Żak.

“The main character, Mauł, is a witness to the ending. She must come to terms with the fact that her beloved grandmother, who raised her, has decided to discontinue treatment for a terminal illness,” said Szelc. 

“For me, this film is a heroic attempt not to disassociate myself from the coming destruction of the world. I know where we live. I have no illusions. This film doesn’t offer easy hope. My heroine is not looking for ways to save herself. Her rebellion is simply to be alive – and to give life.”

Recently, the Polish director worked on Netflix’s smash hit “The Mothers of Penguins,” a series about mothers raising children with disabilities.

“Voracious” – currently in development – was presented at KVIFF Central Stage, the new Karlovy Vary Film Festival initiative designed to promote established filmmakers from Central Europe.

At the fest, Szelc said Lebda’s book inspired her to create a story “about bodies and their natural entanglement. The film seeks to challenge prudish depictions of female physicality and nature, presenting their raw, unromanticized bodies.”

The project, supported by the Polish Film Institute and Creative Europe MEDIA, is lensed by Przemysław Brynkiewicz. It’s produced by Shipsboy’s Joanna Szymańska, a founding member of the Polish Producers Guild and deputy chair of the European Film Academy board. She’s also behind Locarno premiere “Red Path” and Netflix’s “Operation Hyacinth.”

“Reading the novel, we were completely smitten by the beauty of the writing. We acquired the rights right away, because we knew we had to make this into a film,” noted Szymańska, calling it a “deeply personal project and a film that trusts the viewer’s emotional intelligence and rewards deeper, more intimate gaze.” 

She added: “As a company, we want to champion female voices, both in front of and behind the camera – and this is precisely one of those projects. We truly believe that Jagoda’s distinctive visual language powerfully resonates with the emotional and poetic depth of the original novel, and we’re thrilled to be developing this story in collaboration with her.”

The book’s author, Małgorzata Lebda, said she was “thinking in images and scenes” already while writing. 

“I wanted to guide readers gently through this story of love, care and loss. To let them feel it, rather than explain it. I hoped they would remember the details, the colors, the textures. I wanted to immerse them in something organic.”

Working with Szelc was easy, she said.

“I feel that our intuitions are close to each other and our works of imagination come from the same source, the same sensitivity. Now that the film is being made, there’s enthusiasm and excitement in me. Here’s the word turning into a picture, my heroes and heroines gaining bodies, voices. They exist. It’s total happiness for a writer to see her writing come alive.”

“Voracious” will premiere in 2027.