Confessions of a Mole (一颗痣的自白)

Mo Tan

After seven years abroad, Chinese filmmaker Mo Tan returns home for the Lunar New Year, only to be drawn back into the emotional pull of her family. When a fortune teller warns that a mole on her face will bring misfortune, her parents insist she have it removed. Mo refuses, but their fixation, compounded by a fractured family dynamic and her own unraveling relationship, begins to push her to the brink. A breast cancer diagnosis forces her to confront both her mortality and the unsettling possibility that fate might be real. Blending raw documentary intimacy with stop-motion animations and a tragicomic tone, Confessions of a Mole explores tradition, illness, and the generational wounds that echo through families.

China, Poland 2025, '92

DIRECTOR: Mo Tan

SCENARIO: Mo Tan

CAMERA: Mo Tan

MONTAGE: Marcin Strauchold, Mo Tan

MUSIC: Aleksander Makowski

PRODUCERS: Li Shanshan, Tatiana Matysiak, Daria Zienowicz, Piotr Matysiak

PRODUCTION: Beyond Frozen Films, SQUARE Film Studio, BEEFilm Piotr Matysiak

FESTIVALS & AWARDS:

IDFA
Pordenone Docs Fest
Taiwan IDFF
Millennium Docs Against Gravity FF

Mo Tan

Born in China and currently based in Warsaw, Mo Tan graduated in 2018 from the Directing Department of the Lodz Film School. Even in her early student works, the tension between humanity's primal instincts and the constructs of civilization emerged as a central theme in her artistic exploration. In her creative practice, documentary and narrative filmmaking have long served as mutually enriching modes of expression. Her work consistently explores cultural clashes and human dilemmas, employing an observant lens and a deep philosophical inquiry to continually push the boundaries of cinematic storytelling.