Pill Junkies

synopsis

In the 1980s, they fled from Poland to Sweden to find independence, but instead discovered the exact opposite. Tadeusz and Krystyna are addicted to legally distributed drugs. They form an ageing couple who are drawn together more by their common weaknesses and withdrawal symptoms than a mutual attraction. The safety net of the Swedish social system meanwhile dangerously tightens in around them in proportion to their increasing need for the drugs. This observational documentary filmed by Tadeusz’s son reveals, with an unusual intensity, a type of addiction that with bitter irony can be called legal.

DETAIL:
“For some people happiness is winning a million bucks or two. This ain’t happiness. Happiness is when someone can live an ordinary life.”

biography

Bartosz Staszewski was born in Sweden and studied the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw. He works as a photojournalist and his work has appeared in major Polish media outlets. During his studies he attended a documentary film seminar and later shot short films. He worked on the mockumentary Fire-Followers (2013) with director Karolina Bregula. Pill Junkies is his feature-length film debut.

more about film

director:	Bartosz Staszewski
producer:	Bartosz Staszewski
script:	Bartosz Staszewski
photography:	Bartosz Staszewski
editing:	Bartłomiej Szkop
sound:	Bartosz Staszewski