Section: POLSKIE HORYZONTY: The Female Gaze

HELA

Anna Kasperska

PL, 2022, 81 Min

Rebellious teenager Hela gets into trouble everywhere she goes, which is why she has landed in a youth home again. All she really wants is to take care of her little sister. And that's why she has already escaped from this home again. Impressive portrait of a young woman between defiance and responsibility, carried by a wonderful leading actress.

Orphan Hela is caught by two cops while escaping from the youth center and captured. In her new youth center she is being viciously bullied and beaten by her fellow inmates. The nuns who run the institution are more interested in their institution functioning and causing little trouble than in caring for their wards. Accordingly, there’s not too much pity for Hela. She escapes again and manages to kidnap her little sister Zuzia from the foster family. Together the two realize that being a vagabond isn't so great either.

Text: Bernd Buder

Anna Kasperska -

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