Herstory
Directed by: Tomasz Stuleblak
Screenplay: Tomasz Stuleblak
Cinematography: Daniel Le Hai, Jan Barszczewski
Editing: Natalia Olszańska
Sound: Filip Charitonov
Production management: Dorota Chłapek, Aleksandra Gajdosz, and Weronika Podgórska
Artistic supervision: Prof. Maciej Pieprzyca
Cast: Zuzanna Mikołajczyk, Bożenna Zalewska, Magdalena Ważyńska, Maciej Zuchowicz, Aleksandra Gałczyńska, Justyna Fabisiak, Joanna Mądry, Paweł Parczewski, Lidia Pronobis, Bożena Furczyk, Aleksandra Gajdosz, Filip Charitonow, Malwina Dutkiewicz, Cezary Łepek, Tomasz Stuleblak, Ignacy Klim, Iwona Cieślik
Year of production: 2023
Duration: 29 minutes
It's the autumn of 2020. Women's protests are underway in Warsaw. 17-year-old Ola spends the evening at home, taking care of her sister and her sick grandmother. Her daily routine is suddenly disrupted by an unsettling piece of information: it is rumored that Ola's mother is now seeing her father. Ola sets out into the city to find out the truth. Although she feels betrayed, deep down she still holds onto her belief in female solidarity.
Ola visits different places where the mother might be and meets other women close to her, each having a distinctive relationship to the events unfolding on the streets. The mother is not at the hospital where she works, nor is she at another daughter's place, where she helps with her pregnancy. Meanwhile, the atmosphere on the streets becomes tension-filled.
Ola finds herself in the middle of the protests. There she meets an old friend of hers, whom she helps get out of the strained epicenter of the protest. Unfortunately, she too has not seen Ola's mother. There is still one place left where she could be. Ola makes a desperate attempt to get there.
Ola is detained, but with the help of the police officers, she manages to locate her mother and even see her. Fortunately for Ola, her mother is in a cell and not with her father. Although Ola can heave a sigh of relief now, she cannot go home by herself. According to the rules, she must be picked up from custody by someone, as she is a minor. There is only one such person who picks her up then—the father.
Festival screenings of the film:
48th Polish Feature Film Festival, Gdynia, 2023: participation in short film competition
14th Kamera Akcja Festival, Łódź, 2023: participation in international Authors Spotlight competition
