POLISH FEATURE FILM COMPETITION

ŻYCIE DLA POCZĄTKUJĄCYCH

2025 / 80 min / color

Monia (Magdalena Maścianica, in her first leading role) is an introvert — and a vampire. Working at a nursing home allows her to feed on blood collected in sanitary conditions, and her human interactions are limited to conversations with elderly people suffering from dementia. She feels safe and secure, and she could keep it up indefinitely if it weren’t for a certain mortal named Czarek (Michał Sikorski), the first person to discover Monia’s secret. Meanwhile something disturbing is happening at the nursing home: bite marks are found on the bodies of deceased patients. It turns out there’s a second vampire prowling the facility. The predator in question is Mirek (Bartłomiej Kotschedoff), a would-be suicide who was turned into a vampire by Monia. He finds eternal life to be a real drag, especially since he can only be killed by the person who created him. Mirek gives Monia an ultimatum: either she kills him or he will go after every patient in the facility. But will he change his mind when he realizes how beautiful nightlife can be? Paweł Podolski’s debut feature casts the Polish vampire film in a new light. A unique sense of humor is combined with reflections on the fragility of life and the refusal to accept its transience, creating a genuinely explosive mix.

A Q&A session with the filmmakers will take place during the film screening on May 2 at 9:45 PM at the Małopolska Garden of Arts – Mastercard Birthday Cinema.
Please note: the Q&A will be in Polish.