DIRTY GOD, the latest feature by Dutch writer/director Sacha Polak, will celebrate its international premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. It is the first time a feature film from the Netherlands is selected for the prestigious World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
DIRTY GOD is Sacha Polak’s third feature, after the critically acclaimed and award-winning HEMEL and ZURICH, and is her first English language film. Polak co-wrote the script with Susanne Farrell. Marleen Slot of Amsterdam-based Viking Film is the producer. DIRTY GOD is an international co-production with EMU Films (UK), A Private View (BE) and Savage Productions (EIRE). The film is supported by, among others, the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), the Dutch Film Fund, the Netherlands Production Incentive, Belgian Tax Shelter, British Film Institute and BBC Films. Independent (UK) is handling sales.
Sacha Polak’s previous feature films HEMEL and ZURICH both world-premiered at the Berlinale Forum and won multiple awards. HEMEL took home the FIPRESCI Award while ZURICH won the CICAE Art Cinema Award for Best Film.
In DIRTY GOD, young mother Jade (Vicky Knight) is left severely burned after an acid attack from her ex-boyfriend. Her face is reconstructed but her beauty has been lost beneath the scars. Jade is estranged from her young daughter and finds solace in the hidden world of online liaisons where she tries to find the passion and connection she’s craving for. She works at a call center and hopes to earn enough money for a plastic surgery. Will Jade find the path to her daughter and herself? DIRTY GOD is a powerful film about motherhood, courage and self-acceptance set in present day London.
Sacha Polak comments: “DIRTY GOD is a film about a young mother who lost herself in a terrible accident, but who eventually learns to accept herself. She’s an incredibly strong woman. I’ve interviewed many women who had been severely burnt and what struck me is that they were forced to find a way to come to terms with their new appearance. Whichever path they chose and however they did or did not manage, it was their path. What is universal about it, is that for each and every one of us it is challenging to be confronted with feelings of external beauty versus internal dignity. A challenge for every woman in the world.”
The 2019 Sundance Film Festival takes place from 24 January – 3 February.
(source: Eye International)