Heads in the Clouds

dir. Mieszko Chomka / 2026 / Poland / 12 min
Two friends break into an abandoned, drained swimming pool. Instead of filling it with water, they fill it with their memories and games from their hometowns, Kyiv and Kharkiv.

>>> A film to watch in Block 1. Interrupted Childhood

A summer day. In the middle of a rollerblading ride, you stop by a building long out of use. You don’t come there to swim - there’s no water in the pool. You bring your friend. Besides, neither of you can swim. You’re too young. Details from your favorite amusement park begin to return to you - or perhaps even come back to life. But what if the pool were filled with imagined water? If you can imagine even a pool full of water, you can imagine much more. Your favorite roller coaster in Kyiv. The largest park in Kharkiv. Your grandmother who lives just outside the city. Your room. To enter it, you have to open a door that only you and your friend can see. The games come back to life, too. The remembered ones blend with those the drained pool has to offer. The slide’s pipe distorts the sound of your name - the same way a friend once called out to you from the other end of a carousel.In this imagined water, you may have your head in the clouds more than you swim, but you begin to feel the way you once did at home.

duration:
12 min
country / year of production:
Poland / 2026
director:
Mieszko Chomka
cinematography:
Zofia Sobczyk
production:
Agata Golańska / Szkoła Filmowa w Łodzi / The Polish National Film School in Lodz
selected festivals and awards:
2026 - MDAG: World Premiere
competitions:
Best Short Film Award
tags:
Polish films Ukraine growing up

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Other films in the competition Best Short Film Award