The festival’s jurors – Marc Carter, Ate de Jong, Romain Basset, Drew Casson and Mark Murphy – described The Lure as a ‘surprising directing debut and one of the best films of the recent Sundance festival.’
The Portuguese awards are not the first international prizes granted to Smoczyńska’s film – in January 2016, it received the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Unique Vision and Design at Sundance.
The Lure is the most daring and madcap Polish debut since the release of Marcin Krzyształowicz's Eucalyptus in 2001. It tells the story of two teenage mermaids, Gold and Silver, who find their way to one of Warsaw's nightclubs, an oasis of freedom and joy in the otherwise grey 1980s. Here life pulsates to the rhythm of music, while neon lights reflect off the sequined outfits of strippers. Gold and Silver quickly become the main attraction of the club, and undergo a quick lesson in the challenges of growing up.
In this coming-of-age story about the power of love, the director combines multiple genres, intertwining the musical's romantic ballads with gory horror.