Savior's Square

After selling his flat, and before his new one has been completed, Bartek asks his mother, Beata, if he and his family can move in with her on a temporary basis. Bartek is unaware that he has lost his money in an elaborate scam. Forced to stay with his mother and dependent on her money, family conflicts come to the surface. Beata, trying to raise two small children, soon suffers as her husband and his mother begin to pursue their own selfish interests.

Winner of four awards at the Gdynia Polish Film Festival (including the Grand Prix and Best Actress), Savior's Square not only focuses powerfully on social and ethical issues, but gives new life to its subject through its accomplished script, direction and striking use of music (Pawe_ Szymánski).

Drawing on their own experiences and those of their actors, Krzysztof Krauze and his wife Joanna (who won awards for previous films such as The Debt and My Nikifor) sought to make a film about humiliation and aggression rooted in everyday life. It is one of the most compelling Polish films of recent years.

Peter Hames