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We announce the line-up of the Polish Films Competition of the 33rd edition of EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival.
THE ALTAR BOYS
Original title: Ministranci
Director: Piotr Domalewski
Cinematographer: Piotr Sobociński Jr
Produced by: Aurum Film
Polish distributor: Next Film
Country and year: Poland, 2025
A group of teenage altar boys, frustrated by the indifference of adults and the Church to social injustice, decide to implement their own unconventional plan for the moral renewal of their neighbourhood. Armed with youthful rebellion and their personal interpretation of the Bible, they install a wiretap in the confessional to learn more about their neighbours. Disguised as Zorro and inspired by ambitions akin to Robin Hood’s, they set themselves up as judges, helping those in need and punishing sinners. However, their mission soon turns into a dangerous game as the boys, guided by their idealistic code of honour, begin to tread a fine line between good and evil. The gritty reality of life in a dodgy housing estate blends with a mission straight out of a superhero comic, except that instead of capes, the protagonists wear surplices.
BROTHER
Original title: Brat
Director: Maciej Sobieszczański
Cinematographer: Jolanta Dylewska
Produced by: Apple Film Production
Polish distributor: Monolith Films
Country and year: Poland, Czech Republic, 2025
Brother is a touching story of a woman and a family put to the test in a world of violence, unfulfilled ambitions and growing chaos. Fourteen-year-old Dawid looks after his younger brother and tries to meet the expectations of his mother, a woman who wants to break away from a toxic past and start anew, without her imprisoned husband. Although the boy has talent and strength, it is increasingly difficult for him to maintain control of his everyday life, stretched between school, home and the streets. Everything becomes even more complicated when Konrad, the only adult Dawid truly trusts, enters their lives. However, this is only the beginning of turbulent events that may ultimately break up this family… or save it.
PHOTOSENSITIVE
Original title: Światłoczuła
Director: Tadeusz Śliwa
Cinematographer: Michał Englert
Produced by: Wonder Films
Polish distributor: Kino Świat
Country and year: Poland, 2024
Agata is a self-fulfilled woman who loves life. She is visually impaired. Robert is an acclaimed photographer. He has everything, yet feels as though he has nothing. Their meeting will change everything. Together, they will face their past and their own limitations, discovering that true love is born of acceptance and the courage to be oneself. Photosensitive is a moving film that breaks free from the conventional norms of the genre. With honesty and a touch of humour, it proves that feeling means more than seeing.
THIS IS NOT HAPPENING
Original title: To się nie dzieje
Director: Artur Wyrzykowski
Cinematographer: Ernest Wilczyński
Produced by: Bold Humans
Polish distributor: Bold Humans
Country and year: Poland, 2025
When Bartek learns that his teenage son has committed a murder at school, the distraught boy turns to his father for help. Bartek hides him in his fiancée’s flat and tries to get hold of a car to escape abroad together. When his partner attempts to stop him, she becomes his hostage, and in that moment, she confesses that she is pregnant. Bartek is faced with a painful dilemma: which child matters more to him? As he struggles to regain control of the situation, he is forced to confront the truth not only about his son, but also about himself as a father.
WINTER OF THE CROW
Director: Kasia Adamik
Cinematographer: Tomasz Naumiuk
Produced by: Wild Mouse Production, Film Produkcja
Country and year: Poland, Luxembourg, UK, 2025
Warsaw, Poland, 13 December 1981. Martial law is imposed and, overnight, the country shuts down just as British psychiatry professor Dr Joan Andrews arrives as a guest lecturer at the university. Taxis have been replaced by tanks; citizens are treated like criminals. As chaos engulfs the city, armed with her Polaroid camera, she witnesses the secret police commit a brutal murder. In mortal danger and trapped as Poland closes down, Joan becomes a hunted fugitive running for her life. Using her instincts and a newly formed connection with a young student, she navigates the labyrinthine streets of Warsaw, battling against the clock to make it onto the last flight out. Will she reach home and get her incriminating photographs out to the world?