EUFF 2022: I Never Cry

Poland/Ireland | Piotr Domalewski | 2020 | 98 min

Ola is 17 and faces the usual trials of teenage life, like her driving test, which she has repeatedly failed. Suddenly, after receiving the news that her estranged father, a migrant worker on the docks of Dublin, has died in a work accident, Ola must embark on a lonely odyssey from Poland to Ireland to retrieve his body and—importantly for her impoverished family—her share of whatever money the man has left behind. Throughout this journey to a foreign land, Ola not only navigates her way through the thickets of Irish bureaucracy, but also, by talking with her father’s co-workers, begins to get a fuller picture of who her father really was. In this difficult but often gentle and even amusing process, her harsh, sarcastic personality begins to soften. Brimming with rage and intelligence, sadness and joy, Zofia Stafiej as Ola is unforgettable. In Polish, English, and Romanian with English subtitles.

“[I Never Cry] might begin with a physical burst of frustration, but it ends with an emotional rupture that proves especially moving … This is an enjoyable rollercoaster of absurdities and poignancy, and a marvellous showcase for Stafiej’s talent.” Phuong Le, The Guardian

“A moving drama, filled with black humour and empathy, that would make Ken Loach proud.” Ola Salwa, Cineuropa