A special screening of the film by Anita Bugajska and Janusz Schwertner to take place during TOFIFEST!
Every year, we always add special screenings to the festival programme. These are films made both by filmmakers who were already recognized and those who still remain to be discovered, but also films that discuss important social issues, and documentaries presenting unique biographies. This year, one of such special screenings will be the film ‘Nic nie czuję’ by Anita Bugajska and Janusz Schwertner, which takes us inside the world of the Polish child psychiatry system.
The documentary ‘Nic nie czuję’ was produced by Onet and YPO (Young Presidents' Organization) and it is combined of four individual stories of children and their parents. Martyna, Oliwka, Kordian, and Wiktor were all patients of psychiatric hospitals in Poland, where they faced nothing but incomprehension and indifference. The helplessness of the mental health institutions resulted in many tragedies. The authors of the film aim at making the viewers think about the things that can be done to prevent such situations in the future.
We wanted this film to be a starting point for a big change. To make sure that the issue of child psychiatry and mental health of the young generation is prioritized. Today, we are happy to observe this change actually taking place. Nonetheless, ‘Nic nie czuję’ is first and foremost a film about emotions, vulnerability, and feeling alone among other people. This film is for all of us. And all of us will have difficult questions to answer, after watching it. We will do our best to provide the festival audience with at least some of the answers, during the meeting after the film, says Janusz Schwertner, director of the film, who is going to meet with the festival audience on Friday, 28th June.
When they say title words: ‘I feel nothing’ (English for ‘nic nie czuję’), what they really mean is that they have too many emotions to process, and they are difficult for them to express. To put it differently, they would like to feel anything, or maybe it is easier to feel nothing at all. All the conversations that we had in the film with those young people and their parents clearly proved that we could not solely focus on the dramatic condition of psychiatric health care addressed to children and youth in Poland. We also intended to show the inner strength that our protagonists have. As they are real heroes indeed. This is about those young people showing exceptional sensitivity, and their parents, who did not give up and fought for the recovery of their kids, despite all odds — coming from within the system and from elsewhere. ‘Nic nie czuję’ is a desperate call to draw attention to the current condition of Polish psychiatric care, but also to draw attention to ourselves, simple as that. We are honoured that the film shall be screened during the Tofifest festival. We truly hope you will join us, during the meeting after the film, adds Anita Bugajska, director of the film, who will also be a guest to our festival.
The film was made in cooperation with Jacek Bławut, Michał Oleszczyk and the ‘Młode Głowy’ Initiative of the UNAWEZA Foundation founded by Martyna Wojciechowska.
Included in the section:
- Nic nie czuję, dir. by Anita Bugajska, Janusz Schwertner, Poland, 2023, 76’
