Magdalena Joanna Botor
2025 / 10’ 43” / Poland
Zocha is convinced that everyone around her is doing better in life than she is. Focused on her own failures and frustrations, she loses sensitivity to the emotions of others. After many doubts, she decides to attend a student party, which instead of offering a moment of relief turns into chaos. Conversations with friends and confrontation with their successes lead to an emotional outburst, forcing Zocha to face her own inner demons. The film combines a variety of animation techniques – digital and traditional hand-drawn animation, sand animation, and cut-out animation – with live-action footage that reflects the protagonist’s inner state.
Magdalena Botor, a graduate of the Polish National Film School in Lodz, in the Animated Film and Special Effects faculty. Born in Katowice in 1997, she is a resident of Swietochlowice, where she grew up, studying at a secondary school of fine arts and playing the violin. She directed short films like "We're Living in a Society", "Fun", "Always Stand By Me", "Danse Macabre" and "Chill Out". She is currently a teacher at the State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Katowice, in the Intermedia Projects faculty. In her free time, she plays tabletop role-playing games, creates comics, and gives lectures on animated film.