TRUST ME - filmPOLSKA 2026

Once again this year, filmPOLSKA—which takes place from September 9 to 16—is giving a Polish film festival the opportunity to provide insights into its history, philosophy, and program. Following HER Docs (2024) and the Krakow Film Festival (2025), this year’s guest isMillennium Docs Against Gravity (MDAG)—TRUST ME will be presented as part of this partnership. Director Joanna Ratajczak will be on hand for a Q&A following the screening.

TRUST ME (ZAUFAJ MI) 

PL/D 2024
89 min, Original with English subtitles
Dir./Screenplay: Joanna Ratajczak
Cinematography: Joanna Piechotta
Screenplay: Patrycja Piróg
Music: Natalia Mateo

Sebastian grew up in the GDR. He says that after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he realized how essential freedom was to him. Alicja, who is ten years younger, comes from Poland. She meets Sebastian at a tango class and decides to stay in Germany. They get married and start a family. Over time, married life settles into a routine, and Sebastian begins to feel that it won’t make him happy in the long run. So he suggests an open relationship—and Alicja hesitantly agrees in order to save their love.

For six years, Joanna Ratajczak followed the couple as they explored the possibilities and limits of polyamory. She shows that this way of life is a roller-coaster ride that repeatedly confronts those involved with existential questions: How much can I give without losing myself? Is jealousy just a fear of the unknown? What am I willing to invest in a relationship? How much freedom can I take for myself without restricting the freedom of others?

In this sensual, intimate essay—filled with music, leitmotifs, and shifts in pace—the abundance of visual material is matched by the protagonists’ willingness to let the camera get unflinchingly close to their bodies and souls. [Rainer Mende]