HI, TERESKA
CZESC TERESKA



Poland, 2001, 86 min, black & white

Tereska is a teenager living in a gray housing block with her father, an unemployed alcoholic, and her mother, an uncommunicative factory worker. The television blares constantly. However, despite this depressing environment and the absence of any encouragement from her parents, Tereska has grown up sensitive and shy. Her improbable dreams of becoming a fashion designer send her to a trade school, where she meets the rebellious and confident Renata. Soon, Renata is introducing Tereska to her first cigarette, her first kiss and, eventually, her first crime. The film is Glinski's personal response to an inundation of news reports about fourteen and fifteen-year-old Polish children abusing and killing each other.

"What devil's got into you?" a mother asks her teen daughter in despair, and the elusive answer to that question is at the heart of the ironically titled but deadly serious Hi Tereska. Laced with poignant visual metaphors and some courageous performances by amateurs and pros alike, this unblinking look at one girl's downfall in the modern urban jungle is a tough but rewarding experience."