Hi, Tereska

Black and white, 35mm
Poland, 2001, 86 min
Section: Official Selection - Competition

Synopsis

Tereska lives with her parents and little sister in one of the many pre-fab blocks of flats built under the Communists. Nothing about Tereska’s family is exceptional: her father occasionally drinks and her mother, a pious woman, rather blatantly prefers Tereska’s younger sister. Tereska dreams of escaping this world and becoming a fashion designer. She starts attending a sewing school where she meets Renata, a more experienced girl who strongly influences her life: she tries cigarettes and alcohol, steals for the first time, and gains her first, none-too-pleasant sexual experience. Of course, hanging out with Renata and a group of boys from the housing complex is no way for Tereska to find the true feelings she is longing for. Her only ally is Edzio, a disabled guard with whom she can act naturally; in his company she even sometimes seems happy. But in the end, he’s the one Tessa punishes for the dearth of feelings around her.

About the director

Robert Gliński (b. 1952) graduated in direction in 1975 from the State Academy of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź and in architecture from Warsaw Polytechnic. He has directed several plays for theatre (e.g. Hallo It’s Me, Mein Kampf by G. Tabori and Henry VI by Luigi Pirandello) and for television. His involvement in film began with the documentaries Kantor’s Nadobnisie i koczkodany (1979), We Are Not Afraid (1981) and Coxless Two (1982). Feature films followed: Sunday Games (1983), Poisonous Plants (1986, TV), Swan Song (1988), Supervision (1990), All That Really Matters (1992), Her Mother’s Mother (1996), Love and Do What You Want (1997) and Hi, Tereska (2000).