Joanna + Our Curse +Q&A 18

Joanna
Director: Aneta Kopacz | Producer: Adam Ślesicki | Country: Poland | Year: 2014 | Duration: 40 MINS

We first see Joanna as she lies in bed, reading a story to her five year old son. She could be any mother, anywhere. Indeed, this luminous film is filled with such quiet, ordinary moments, shared between mother and child. But Joanna's life at the moment is anything but ordinary. She is dying of cancer and does not have long to live. As observers, we are included in the moving intimacy of Joanna's last days, spending quiet time at home with her little boy, helping him learn how to ride a bike, picking mushrooms, walking through meadows with her husband. Through wondrous camerawork that is both intimate and respectful, Aneta Kopacz's film is a testament to the ability of observational filmmaking to tell powerful, universal life stories.

Carol Nahra

Our Curse
Director: Tomasz Wilwinski | Producer: Maciej Slesicki | Country: Poland  | Year: 2013 | Duration: 28 MINS

In this intimate and moving self-portrait, a young couple bring their newborn home. Diagnosed with Ondine’s curse, he must be attached to a ventilator when he sleeps. The mechanical gasps soundtrack their lives as they bravely confront their fears.