“The Faces of Agate” / dir. Małgorzata Kozera / documentary / 2023 / 73 min. / Poland
Between what is warm, moist, and pulsating, momentarily formed into cells, tissues, and bones, and what is free from matter and eternal, lies the mystery of existence. Agata di Masternak, a Polish painter living and creating in London, attempts to grasp and convey this mystery through her art. She has a significant reason for this pursuit—she was only 16 years old when she was told that she would die within two years. The cause of her impending death was to be a hemangioma-aneurysm, a tumor located near Agata’s cheek and jaw, which caused bleeding from her mouth, nose, and eyes. Over twenty years have passed since that diagnosis. Agata is alive, but she has undergone dozens of facial surgeries and has faced death multiple times. She knows what hope is and what it feels like to lose it. She also knows what it is like to live life to the fullest, as if there were no tomorrow. There is, however, art, love, and an unending hunger for life.