Tomasz Popakul

On the one hand, it's apocalypse, and on the other, it feels like any other day. Something bizarre is throbbing on an invisible layer.

After running away from her depressing village in eastern Europe, a teenage girl meets a new friend under a bridge.

A Van Gogh like man meets the root of his self consciousness at the end of an unreal trip inside his own mind.

In a seemingly idyllic village, a teenager has to struggle with the problems of growing up. His situation is especially difficult, as he is half boy, half fish.

A pair of astronauts is trapped on an orbital space station due to unexpected nuclear war on Earth. They lost contact with Earth, and all attempts to communicate with their base or anybody else have failed.

“At precisely 4:30am on February 10th, rise from your bed, get dressed and leave the house. Walk to the bus stop and catch the number 7. Ride until the 10th stop (…) Feel the pigeon stir in your stomach. Allow her to crawl up your esophagus and out of your mouth…”

A cat lover, Jesus leaving the cross and Christmas carollers holding pitchforks are set against a snowy and icy scenery. ‘Zima’, a psychodelic journey to a small fishing village, collects as if in a lens the behaviour, customs and vices of the Polish provinces. In this small community, different views, the behaviour of people and animals and their mutual relations clash like ice floes on a lake. Maintained in the convention of magic realism, this animation is like a horror playing out to the accompaniment of barking dogs and a punk metal music score.

Spring 2020, Poland. 16 filmmakers create 14 short films about unexpected experience of isolation caused by pandemic.