Rafał Skalski
Writer / Director
Poland
A graduate of Film Directing at the Film School in Łódź and a member of the Polish Film Academy. His documentaries, such as “52 Percent” (TVP, 2007) or “Lovers” (HBO, 2009), have been mainly portraits of outsiders, displaying impassioned sensitivity to the intimate worlds of their protagonists. His films have been screened and awarded at many international festivals, such as IDFA Amsterdam, Kraków Film Festival, DOXA Vancouver, HOT DOCS Toronto. In recent years, he’s been developing his documentary skills by directing TV documentary series for Canal+ and Discovery. “Kamil Stoch. The Untold Story” has been broadcast in 92 countries. “Wartime Portraits”, available on NETFLIX, combines documentary and animation techniques. His feature documentary “Monk of the Sea” had its international premiere at the 69th Locarno Film Festival (the Semaine de la Critique section).
Project
Night in the Kindergarten
The parents’ kindergarten council meets to rehearse for a Christmas play they organize for their kids. Unexpectedly, Eryk, who dates the mother of 5-year-old Tytus, one of the preschoolers, shows up at the meeting, being its only childless participant. During the rehearsal, Eryk discovers a secret plan of charismatic Justyna, who intends to convince most of the parents to expel Tytus from the kindergarten. The council’s meeting turns into a “court trial” over the naughty 5-year-old. Eryk decides to defend the boy, whom he doesn’t like. At first, he defends the kid for selfish reasons, but then he destroys the bizarre network of parental relations in the kindergarten and gets ready to become a parent.
A NIGHT IN THE KINDERGARTEN is Poland in a nutshell, seen through the lens of stressed parents and one aspiring stepfather, who accidentally steps into the middle of parental hell.
