Roman Szafrański

Christmas is coming. Little Ania dreams of a doll she saw in a shop window.

During the German occupation of a small Polish town, Franciszek Kłos, a lowly local policeman, will stop at nothing to become a Volksdeutsche. Eager to prove his loyalty, he zealously carries out the occupiers' orders. What begins as administrative compliance soon escalates when he commits his first murder of a fellow Pole. Condemned to death by the Polish underground, Kłos outwardly shrugs off the sentence while quietly drowning his growing fear in alcohol. As his inhibitions crumble, he descends deeper into violence—participating in the roundup and execution of hidden Jews, and earning a reputation for brutality even among the SS.

Two friends, 18-year-olds Bogo and Rychu, are faced with the choices of adolescence. Both have problems with women. Bogo is the "tough guy" type, who - convinced of his own effectiveness in picking up girls - pays no attention to the means used. Rychu is a dreamer, a lost victim of fate; he has never had a girlfriend before. Bogo decides to help.

Maidens and Widows is an epic tale of a hundred years of Polish history from the perspective of women, the titular maidens and widows. Set against the backdrop of turbulent historical events.

A gigantic scandal breaks out in the United States. Charles Enak, sent into space, refuses to return to Earth. He does not give any reasons for his decision. Meanwhile, the world is plunging into a political crisis - the biggest one since the Cold War. Attempts to automatically bring the ship back to Earth failed, as Enak turned off the on-board equipment. Sensationalist reporters begin to check the biography of the scandal's hero. They find his ex-wife, investigate his past in communist Poland. They soon discover that Charles Enak aka Karol Enakowski has an extraordinary property: he can influence the human subconscious.

The year is 1989, and the country's first free elections in a long time are approaching. A man in a cycling cap organizes a chain of clean hands, using it as a tool in his election campaign. In the queue outside the passport office, people chat, make plans, and ponder what's worth selling abroad. Writers observe the world around them. One of them is applying for a passport. In Dzierżyński Square, the monument to Feliks Edmundowicz is being dismantled. Two drunk men sleep on a bench, and behind them is a sign reading: "All is well." The two writers observe the ongoing transformation of the political system.

A young cat named Marcel is fed up with living in the old mill and starts his journey. He catches one sneaker while fishing. The flying raven, MSc Plato tells him it's a seven-mile sneaker, judging from the word "7M". Marcel decides to try it out, but it doesn't work. Magister Plato thinks a second sneaker is needed. Marcel therefore intends to devote his journey to the search for the second sneaker.

An epic tale of a hundred years of Polish history from the perspective of women, the titular maidens and widows. Set against the backdrop of turbulent historical events.