The Welts – Polish Film Festival

Wojtuś is brought up by a single father. This ‘upbringing’ is based mostly on the use of corporal punishment his father considers to be the only right and effective method. Even at school and in church the boy experiences institutionalized violence. Beaten up and humiliated, he builds a wall around himself and avoids any deeper relationship with people. Eventually, he runs away from home. 30-something Wojciech, ambitious and self-reliant, seems to have found his place in life. A fan of caving, he makes a living by writing newspaper articles. His life is well-organized but lonely. In the mountains, he meets Tania who’d like to be with him. But Wojciech feels emotionally empty, has no plans for the future and doesn’t want to engage in a relationship. He desperately avoids responsibility and feels that his painful childhood memories are like invisible welts on a soul impossible to remove. He’s afraid to become the same monster for his own child. The death of his father marks the new beginning.