Dir/Wri: Iga Lis | Cinematography: Kacper Gawron | Poland 2025 | 65′
On a windy seaside resort on Poland’s white sandy Baltic coast lies the legendary Łeba smokehouse.
Owner Miecia, a hearty, tousled-haired force of nature, has perfected the art of smoking cod, haddock and herring for the past 40 odd years. With an armful of orders and queues stretching along the beach she serves her vast family of clients who call her the ‘Queen of Łeba’.
For Mieca work has always been the beating heart of her life, but when her health takes a beating she is forced to change focus, relying on strength and humour to help her onto the next chapter.
Iga Lis’s documentary debut never outstays its welcome as a warm and wise portrait of a hard-working, self-reliant woman, her stakhanovite style adapted to capitalism. Enlivened by colourful local life on the Baltic coast this ethnographical portrait of self-realisation and survival is informative and watchable.
NOW SCREENING AT THESSALONIKI FILM FESTIVAL 2026