Candidates of Death + pre-recorded intro

Name: Candidates of Death + pre-recorded intro
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2026-11-26
Duration: 1 h 36 min
Cast: Maciej Cuske, Stanisław Cuske, Rafał Waraczewski

<div><b>This screening will have a pre-recorded introduction (in English) from film critic and film scholar Karolina Kosińska.</b></div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/borschtfc/">Borscht Film</a> in collaboration with Doc Screen are excited to present the UK Premiere of <i>Candidates of Death</i>.</div><div><br></div><div>What begins as a playful summer project between a father and three boys slowly transforms into a seventeen‑year chronicle of friendship, imagination, passion for cinema and the passage of time.</div><div><br></div><div>During a family holiday, filmmaker Maciej Cuske invites his son and two of his friends to make an amateur horror movie – a way to escape screens and rediscover the joy of storytelling. Year after year, they reunite to shoot new scenes for their homemade saga, <i>Candidates of Death</i>. What starts as a game becomes a tender, funny, and deeply human record of growing up – and of refusing to let go of wonder.</div><div><br></div><div>Cuske’s film blends documentary and coming‑of‑age narrative with a playful “film‑within‑a‑film” structure. As the boys mature, their lives diverge: one pursues filmmaking dreams, another chooses stability, and the third – Cuske’s own son – becomes a cinematographer, confronting the complexities of adulthood. Meanwhile, the father faces his own transformations, losses, and hopes.</div><div><br></div><div>Since its premiere, <i>Candidates of Death</i> has quickly become one of the most celebrated Polish documentaries of the year, earning major awards at the country’s leading festivals and resonating strongly with both audiences and juries. The film won the top Polish prize at Millennium Docs Against Gravity, along with the Onet Big Screen Doc Award and the Warsaw Audience Award - a rare triple distinction that highlights its impact. It continued its success at the TAURON Young Horizons Film Festival, receiving the festival’s main award for Best Polish Production and the prize for Best Documentary in Competition. Beyond its wins, <i>Candidates of Death</i> has been featured across key Polish festivals.</div><div><br></div><div>This screening is part of <a href="https://www.filmhouse.org.uk/doc-screen">Doc Screen</a>, an initiative run by Scottish Documentary Institute (SDI) in partnership with Filmhouse.</div><div><br></div>DocumentaryPT1H36MN/C 182026-11-26PLpl

Maciej Cuske

Stanisław Cuske

Rafał Waraczewski

Maciej Cuske

Candidates of Death + pre-recorded intro"Candidates of Death + pre-recorded intro"

Showtimes

November 26, 6:30 pm