Polish Prayers

Homosexuality can be cured, no sex before marriage, and Poland for the Poles. That’s what Antek and his ultra-conservative friends stand for. Dressed in vest and sixpence, Antek is a leading figure and in his masculine ace among his young peers on the Catholic right when they go to Pride parades to demonstrate. But when Antek himself is exposed to a less-than-Catholic love interest, he begins to question the ideals he’s championed so far. With an open heart, POLISH PRAYERS turns into an ideological transformation that pokes at the classic male ideal and instills hope about how little it sometimes takes to change a young mind. (CPH:DOX)

Director's Filmography (Selection)
Polish Prayers (2022, doc)
Competition Documentary 2023
Hanka Nobis
Switzerland / Poland 2022
color
85 minutes
Polish
OV with English subtitles / OV with German subtitles
Screenplay Hanka Nobis, Esther van Messel
Cinematography Miłosz Kasiura
Editing Bigna Tomschin, Olivia Frey
Sound/Sounddesign Anna Rok
Music Marcel Vaid
With Antoni Kamiński
Producer(s) Esther van Messel, Hanka Nobis
Production
First Hand Films, Offhand
World Sales
First Hand Films
Austrian Premiere
World Premiere
IDFA 2022

Trigger Warning: Racism, Homophobia