SET 2 – DREAM

Six egoists and one supermarket. “Central-Mart” is a black comedy telling the story of a group of customers who, through mutual spite and ruthless determination to get what they want, set off a spiral of absurd events. Through selfishness, cunning, and ignorance, their fates intertwine and create a web of grotesque situations. Whether they are skipping lines, being overly picky, or considering their own needs the most important, every step leads the characters toward an inevitable catastrophe.

Alicja Błaszczyńska – director and screenwriter of animated films, animator. She graduated from the Łódź Film School, from the Cinematography Department with a specialization in Animated Film and Special Effects. In her work, she focuses on combining absurd humor with a distinctive visual style.

The people who created this animation want to open a space for discussion with children about what privilege is. Are we aware of our privileges? What should we do when we struggle with something that comes easily to others? What should we do when we see that someone is facing a challenge that is not a problem for us? The story of the little beetles inspires the search for answers to these questions.

Piotr Chmielwski is a self-taught stop-motion animator who uses his knowledge and skills to address social issues through visual media. He creates campaign animations for various non-governmental organizations and is taking his first steps as a director of artistic films. “Krab” was his debut animation and, hopefully, the first part of a series of films that will present important historical events from the perspective of animals.

In a surreal zoo, monkeys sing wild songs, putting visitors into an almost hypnotic trance. Meanwhile, other animals slip out of control, and the tension rises as a lion prepares to attack an ostrich. However, not everything is as it seems. This animation is a visual journey full of absurdity and magic, inspired by a fragment of Juan Emar’s novel “Yesterday,” where dream and reality intertwine.

Julia Wojtanowska (born 2002, Tarnów) is an intermedia artist whose work brings together installation, film, photography, painting, and performance. Her projects explore the relationship between the artwork and the viewer, aiming to create a space of interaction in which the intensity of emotions draws the viewer into a world filled with motifs of everyday life. The main themes in her work revolve around figures - both human and animal - which she subjects to transformations, experimenting with perspective and role reversal, thereby creating a space for new narratives. She currently studies Intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków.

Grandpa dies and tries to leavehis home. Unfortunately, his family refuses to believe that he is gone for good. Every time he tries to escape, they bring him back to them.

Nawojka Wierzbowska is a graduate of the PWSFTViT in Katowice. She studied for a semester at the Transforming Art Institute in Madrid. Her graduation film “Bad Night Story” was presented at major Polish film festivals, including the Future Films Festival in Gdynia, the Film Debuts Festival in Koszalin (where it won the award for Best Sound), and the New Horizons International Film Festival. “Bad Night Story” was also broadcast on television channels such as Canal+. She recently completed a course in animated series development at the La Poudrière school in France and participated in the 29th International Animation Film Workshops in Lanckorona. She is a big fan of cartoons and dark humor.

“Talk to Me” was created based on an original picturebook that addresses the topic of depression in a family from a child’s perspective. The main characters of the film are a child and a mother suffering from depression. The child observes the changes in the mother’s behavior, tries to understand them, searches for a way to help, and sometimes takes responsibility upon themself. The story presents the problem with subtelty, without accusations or stigmatization. In this way, it encourages conversation about mental health, closeness, and love. The film ends with an open and hopeful finale. 

Yuliia Tabenska is a Ukrainian artist, book illustrator, picturebook author, and animation creator. She is the author of the story as well as the director, set designer, and animator of the film “Talk to Me.” For 10 years she has been creating her own artistic books and illustrating projects by acclaimed authors. Since 2019 she has lived and worked in Poland, supporting local initiatives and collaborating with cultural institutions. Since 2024 she has been experimenting with stop-motion and collage animation, combining her passion for collage and assemblage with moving narrative. 

The viewer assumes the role of the film's protagonist – they drift through fairytale landscapes, absorbing their kitsch allure. Yet the viewer’s gaze remains vigilant, carefully scouring the nooks of this dreamlike world, following an ethereal orange light. Sweets, ubiquitous glitter, adorable porcelain figurines, large-panel living buildings, VHS cassettes, or a beloved childhood pillowcase – the longed-for utopia might be hidden anywhere.

Nina Sikorska – born in 2001 in Bielsko-Biała, writer, director, and animator, currently in her fifth year studying Animation at the University of the Arts in Poznań. In her work she explores themes of camp, Polishness, and theatricality. As an animator, she is part of Mundi - an experimental theatre group from Warsaw. Her texts have been published, among others, in the “Zakład” and “Składka” magazines, and her illustrations in the “Girls and Queers to the Front” and “Po Godzinach” zines. Her film Moja Watko was part of the selection at the Young and Film Festival and the Freedom Film Festival.

A short animated documentary film about Alicja and Bożena Wahl - twin sisters and visual artists active in the second half of the 20th century. The film is based on excerpts from Alicja’s diaries and the work of both artists. It is a story of sisterhood, collaborative creation and a relationship that became the centre of their private and artistic lives. Alicja’s diaries, an intimate, never-ending dialogue with Bożena, offer a glimpse into the sisters’ world, full of closeness and tension. 

Helena Stańczyk - animation director and comic book author. A graduate of the State School of Fine Arts in Warsaw, she is currently a final-year student of animation and special effects at the Łódź Film School. Her short animated documentary “49 385” has been screened and awarded both in Poland and abroad. Her debut comic book “Ni pies, ni wydra” was named among the 150 best children’s books at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2025. Privately, she is the great-granddaughter of Alicja Wahl. 

An incurable romantic finds the woman of his dreams in an old newspaper. She is perfect… well, on paper.

Born October 30, 2005, in Warsaw. A second-year student at the Faculty of Animated Film and Special Effects at the National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź. She is the author of the short film “Heart-Ad” (2026), which is her directorial debut. Her films explore real human relationships and behaviors while developing her own distinctive directing style. She is particularly interested in puppet, hand-drawn, and stop-motion animation. She draws inspiration from classic Polish studios such as Se-Ma-For and the Studio Filmów Rysunkowych.

In a world moving toward complete automation, the protagonist must confront the question: if machines can do all the work, what place is left for her?

Ewelina Duffy is a Polish-Irish animated film director and visual artist. She completed her Master’s degree at the Faculty of Animation and Intermedia at the University of the Arts in Poznań, Poland. She is currently continuing her artistic education at the Faculty of Image and Interdisciplinary Activities at the same university. Combining animation and data visualization with painting, she explores themes of the body, organicity and corporeality in relation to new technologies in art.

The film presents the theme of breast cancer as an experience that shapes the psyche, the body, and female identity. It is based on an interview with my mother, who underwent oncological treatment, a mastectomy, and breast reconstruction. The work shows how difficult it is to regain a sense of femininity in the face of losing the “attributes” culturally associated with it. It is an intimate yet universal story about loss, strength, and reclaiming oneself.

My name is Aleksandra Piekarska, and I am a graduate of the Faculty of Art in Opole. My work focuses mainly on artistic printmaking and new media art, exploring themes such as identity, interpersonal relationships, and social and feminist contexts.

The wanderer traverses a vast icy desert. He strives for a place that seems to be merely an illusion, like a ghost seeking a return to the world of the living. A lynx follows him, awaiting a moment when the vagabond loses all his strength.

Oktawia Derybowska is a young animator who works using traditional animation techniques. She comes from the village of Góraszka near Warsaw. In the capital, she attended the Wojciech Gerson High School of Fine Arts. In 2025, she graduated with a master's degree in Animation from the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of Arts in Poznań, where she currently resides. During her studies, she developed her professional career as an illustrator, but the future she sees within the field of animation.