MAIN DRAMATIC COMPETITION “MAKING WAY”

NIE MA DUCHÓW W MIESZKANIU NA DOBREJ

2025 / 90 min / color

Four siblings on the cusp of adulthood attempt to find their own paths without severing the bonds that unite them. The youngest, Benek, grapples with a painful rejection from his older brother, Franek, who had always been his closest friend. Even worse, Benek is haunted by a mysterious apparition, the “Dusiołek” – the “little strangler” of Polish folklore – who perches on his chest, keeps him from sleeping and triggers sudden panic attacks. Meanwhile Franek, desperate to escape his family, spirals into a toxic relationship and drug-fueled chaos. His deterioration weighs heavily on his twin sister Nastka, who quietly yearns for her own sense of love and stability. The eldest, Jana, channels her search for emotional solace into an artistic project designed to heal both her siblings and herself. In her feature-length debut, Emi Buchwald speaks with remarkable tenderness, irony, and honesty about the strength of family ties and the need for independence – the difficult journey of learning to say “I” more often than “we.” The film has a deeply personal tone, drawing on the director’s life and her relationships with her siblings. Buchwald is a powerful, fresh, and strikingly distinctive new voice in Polish cinema.

• Gdynia FF – Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Karolina Rzepa), Best Casting Director (Katarzyna Gryciuk-Krzywda), Golden Claw – The Andrzej Żuławski Award, Journalists’ Award
• Polish Film Awards “Eagles” – Discovery of the Year (Emi Buchwald), Best Supporting Actress (Karolina Rzepa)
• Polityka’s Passport – Emi Buchwald