Fisheye

Michał Szcześniak, the director of the award-winning short films Starting Point and Spitsbergen, has proved that he is not afraid to take risks. In his full-length debut, he directs a somewhat Fincher-like thriller about a young woman held captive by a sophisticated torturer. Although Anna (Julia Kijowska, who won a Jantar Award for best actress at the Koszalin Film Festival) initially has the impression that she was kidnapped because of her groundbreaking scientific research, it actually turns out to be much more complicated. In telling Anna’s story, Szcześniak skillfully creates an on-screen atmosphere of dread and helplessness. However, the director’s ambitions go far beyond the desire to show off his stylistic skills. As the plot unfolds, Fisheye turns into a story about the need for accountability for decisions made in the past and about the fragility of the foundations on which our everyday comfort is built.