The Welts

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.

Written by: Wojciech Kuczok
Director of photography: Marcin Koszałka
Music by: Adrian Konarski
Production design by: Ewa Skoczkowska, Joanna Doroszkiewicz
Set decorator: Joanna Doroszkiewicz
Costume design by: Dorota Roqueplo
Editing: Wojciech Mrówczyński
Sound: Michał Żarnecki
Cast: Michał Żebrowski (Wojciech), Agnieszka Grochowska (Tania), Jan Frycz (father), Wacław Adamczyk (Wojtuś), Dorota Kamińska (Tania’s mother), Joanna Pierzak (teacher), Krystyna Rutkowska-Ulewicz (neighbor), Leszek Piskorz (provost)
Production managers: Teresa Paszkiewicz, Leszek Pieszko
Produced by: Studio Filmowe “Tor”
Co-produced by: Vision Film Production, Non Stop Film Service
Producers: Iwona Ziułkowska-Okapiec, Krzysztof Zanussi, Włodzimierz Otulak
Distributed by: Vision Film Distribution
World sales: Vision Film Distribution