These Polish shorts recognise the battles we fight within ourselves.

Each and every one of us faces inner conflicts. The struggles we face within ourselves are ironically as universal as can be. Our Inner Conflicts explores a diverse array of characters and environments against the backdrop of existential dilemmas or moral quandaries. Each films serves as a mirror reflecting the complexities of human nature, inviting you to ponder your own inner battles. Including works by (amongst others) Poland's Animation Golden & Silver Age directors Walerian Borowczyck, Jerzy Kucia and Piotr Dumała, this emotional journey goes along the road of jealousy, hatred, rivalry, rejection, suffering and the current refugee crisis.

This program was curated by Ewa Borysewicz and Katarzyna Surmacz.

This program screened as part of Kaboom Animation Festival 2024

Showing in this program

A Gentle Spirit

• Piotr Dumała
• Poland, 1985
• 11 min.

An extraordinary vision of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's story, a suggestive study of jealousy and hatred, emphasized by the use of an interesting painting technique and the moving music of Zygmunt Konieczny.

Piotr Dumała, born in 1956, a film director, animator and graphic designer, professor of the Lodz Film School, Poland, Konstfack College in Eksjo, Sweden and Harvard University in Cambridge, USA. Key films: "Czarny Kapturek" (“Little Black Riding Hood”), "Łagodna” (A Gentle Spirit), "Ściany" (Walls), "Wolność nogi" (Freedom of a Leg), "Franz Kafka", "Zbrodnia i kara" (Crime and Punishment). Winner of over 70 film awards, the most important of which include Grand Prix Krakow, Grand Prix Zagreb, Grand Prix Espinho, Special Jury Award in Annecy.

I’m Here

• Julia Orlik
• Poland, 2020
• 14 min.

An elderly man is looking after his paralyzed wife. Despite his old age and health problems he's doing his best to relieve her suffering, which is getting worse day by day. His daughter helps him, trying to balance care with her work in the hospital and family life. Everyone has a different view on how to properly care for the sick, which often causes arguments.

Reflection

• Jerzy Kucia
• Poland, 1979
• 6 min.

It is an ironic reflection about life, rivalry, and pointless fight. An insect is going out from his co-coon with a lot of effort. Unexpectedly, another insect attacks him. A stiff fight is interrupted by a passing man who will leave only his footprints and embraced dead insects. The film received ma-ny awards, including the Golden Dragon at the Cracow Film Festival.

The Game of Angels

• Walerian Borowczyk
• Poland, 1964
• 12 min.

A bizarre, semi-abstract animated film, based around the theme of angels being processed by a nightmarish factory. It has been interpreted as an allegory of the concentration camp experience and as a portrait of the industrialisation and collectivisation of the Soviet period.

There Are People in the Forest

• Szymon Ruczynski
• Poland, 2023
• 9 min.

A lonely man limps down the road. A truck drives up to him. Several armed men jump out of it. They capture the limping man and transport him to the forest. The only witnesses of the scene are people from a nearby village. Since 2021, situations like these are commonplace on the Polish-Belarussian border of the EU, which is the scene of an ongoing refugee crisis.

Ziegenort

• Tomasz Popakul
• Poland, 2013
• 19 min.

Fish Boy is a teenager facing the challenges of growing up. His problems are especially severe, as he is different from all others: He is half boy, half fish. His drama is set against the background of a seemingly idyllic fishing village, where is father wants to teach him how to become a fisherman. The boy‘s struggle with the stigma of rejection takes place in several dimensions of interpersonal relationships. Ultimately, it also affects Fish Boy‘s relationship with himself.


Tomasz Popakul, born in 1986. Animator, musician, VJ, graphic designer. One of the most interest-ing young directors of animated films, the creator of peculiar worlds and disturbing stories.
Graduated Lodz Film School in direction animation and special effects. His debut movie Ziegenort (2013) was shown at many festivals around the world. His another project, Acid Rain (2019), ga-ined 35 awards, was shown in around 90 festivals, got a prestigious nomination for Annie Awards, and was on the long Oscar list. Created short hybrid animation Moon (2020) for HBO pandemic anthology At Home. Collaborated with Kasumi Ozeki on Acid Rain, Moon, and now ZIMA (2023).