The 18-minute short captures Lena on her 1st of November birthday. On this date - a time for deep contemplation and for visiting family graves - she decides to get in touch with her father. It turns out that he has a new family, and shows no interest in his newly found daughter. For Lena, All Souls' Day turns out to be a time of a complete change of perspective regarding family matters, which is reinforced by her brother’s unexpected birthday gift.
"This is most of all a story about searching for family and about how family is not necessarily a mother and father”, director Terpińska said in an interview for the Polish Film Institute prior to a screening at the San Sebastian film festival. "We can't always decide how our lives will develop, which is why it is important to keep your eyes and your heart open to what fortune brings us, instead of becoming frustrated with the fact that the world isn't living up to our expectations. In this sense, the main character has to grow up and reevaluate her world. Which certainly won't be easy for her."
Produced at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Radio and Television Department of the University of Silesia in Katowice and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, All Souls' Day was selected Best Short Film at the 22nd Festival of Eastern European Cinema in Cottbus, Germany. In Clermont-Ferrand it is one of 79 short films featured in the Main Competition.
Aleksandra Terpińska is a fourth-year student of Film Directing at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Radio and Television Department, and a psychology graduate from the University of Wrocław. She received awards at the Kodak Student Competition for Commercials in 2009 and 2010. Her work includes the short films Jaśmin / Jasmine, Erynie and Tonio Krüger and a documentary about rugby players on wheelchairs, Bez litości / Without Pity.
The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival is a top international events for short films.
Thumbnail credit: Cinessonne
Sources: PISF, culture.pl, Polish Shorts
Editor: Marta Jazowska