In public, Polish Anu Czerwiński is a transgender filmmaker and performer, but at home he is Annie, and behaves/performs as such, even shaving off his moustache before returning to the family domicile.
The family set-up is complex. His “narcissistic” poetry-writing father is strictly Catholic while his elegant and agnostic mother is a loving care giver and homemaker. Thirty six‐year‐old brother Romek still lives with his parents, even though he has a symbiotic relationship with his chihuahua dog. He suspects that Anu is trans but, when asked, Anu denies this.
‘The only person who can actually afford to be honest is the eldest brother Rafał, who suffers from cerebral palsy. He is the one who is not afraid to call a spade a spade, but unfortunately no one listens to him,’ reads the film synopsis. To break the silence, Anu stages his coming out in a real theatre, together with actor friends. Back in the family house in Poznań his camera simultaneously records events. ‘It is with its [the camera’s] help that the director tries to shatter the system of silence that has always organised life in his home,’ the synopsis continues.
“In the film, we will gradually observe all the family members discover the truth,” Anu told the Krakow Industry audience this week. “For now, the most important moment is still ahead of me. I’m planning to come out to be able to [do] ordinary things like inviting my girlfriend home for the first time. or have a family dinner without freaking out. I just want to quit playing roles inside of the my family drama. That’s what my film will be about.”
A graduate of the Wajda filmmaking school in Warsaw, Anu co‐directed the first Polish feature‐length documentary produced by Netflix, We Are Perfect, which tells the story of transgender youth in Poland. The film premiere worldwide in June 2023.
The running time of the Polish-language Home Movie will be 70 minutes. Shooting began in December 2021 and will run to April 2024 ahead of delivery in January 2025. Produced by Anna Stylińska of Film Frame/My Way Studio, the project is budgeted at €220,000 with €200,000 yet to be raised. At Krakow, she was looking to drum up co-production, sales, finance and festivals interest.
Stylińska assessed the importance and potential consequences of the project. “You see, everybody is playing theater here, but what will happen once the truth is revealed? Will the parents love their son as much as they love their daughter? Or maybe they will be finally relieved to quit playing their roles…But anyhow, even if they pass this test, there is one big test, one big last row that’s still ahead of them. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but according to Polish law, a transgender person who wants to legally transition has to sue their parents for assigning them the wrong gender at birth. Yeah, that’s true. So will they all unite together as a family for this last big role they would have to play in front of the court, that was forced on them by the oppressive society [in Poland]?” she asked Krakow audience.
“As you can imagine, it might be quite tough to find money here in Poland for that kind of topic, so we are looking for international co-producers and we would love to meet any broadcaster sales agents and any partners who would like to team up with us,” she ended.
