Call Me Tony

"Life is generally tough and ungrateful, right?" says 18-year-old bodybuilder Konrad. Despite all his attempts to prove himself, he is overcome by self-doubt. He feels he's a disappointment to everyone—especially his father, whom he hasn't seen for a long time. It's one of many intimate moments in a portrait that is delicately composed, both emotionally and visually. Close-ups capture the contrast between the softness of Konrad’s expression and the hardness of his muscles, which he trains every day. His second passion is acting—he takes acting classes, admires Al Pacino, and when he's alone, he sometimes tries out the lines of Tony Montana, Pacino's character in Scarface. But his mother and others try to make him question whether this is actually what he wants. Isn’t all this longing for attention and acknowledgment actually a hindrance to him? Against the backdrop of an industrial city in Poland, we watch as Tony searches for liberation in this coming-of-age drama. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)