2025 Student Academy Award Winners Series Part 8: Dad's Not Home

Dad's Not Home, dir. Jan Saczek

A birthday notification buzzes on Kuba's phone, but it goes unmentioned. He and his younger brother Bartek stir awake in their bunk bed and begin the familiar routine of the day. This is not a typical household, though. Their father, David, is suffering from some form of dementia, and the boys share the burden of caring for him while also preparing themselves for school. As they cook, dress him, and keep the house in order, the implication is clear. If anyone were to discover the truth of their father's condition, the fragile family unit would almost certainly be broken apart.

A student at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, writer-director Jan Saczek and cinematographer Patryk Roman communicate the family's situation without expository dialogue. Bartek opens the refrigerator for milk, and the camera holds on an old photograph of happier times before pushing forward into the reality of him preparing a meager breakfast for the family. David reaches for Kuba's cereal bowl, and Bartek quietly intercepts his hand, a single action that makes the family's power dynamic visible. Up to this point, we have seen Kuba assuming responsibility for the household, picking up after their father, dressing him, and encouraging him to turn off the cartoons and come eat breakfast. However, in this moment, it is clear that even young Bartek has adopted responsibility for his father. The boys are orchestrating the illusion of a functioning home. Kuba manages a bill collector on the phone while Bartek sidesteps a postman requiring a signature from their father. Both boys appear to be well-practiced at keeping their secret. Yet in the exact moment where both their attentions are occupied, David manages to take Kuba's cereal bowl after all. This subtle foreshadowing suggests that the boys will not be able to maintain this fragile system forever. Particularly in short films, where expository scenes are a luxury, Saczek's command of visual storytelling feels all the more impressive.

The film features powerful performances. Konrad Kąkol as Kuba shoulders most of the drama, balancing anger and resentment with a heartbreaking fragility. One moment has Kuba asking his father, "Do you remember us?" and the anticipation in his eyes as he awaits the answer is gut-wrenching. When David responds, "Yes, of course," Kuba holds a look that is both disappointed by his father's default reply and yet also hopeful that these words might, just this once, be lucid. Piotr Łukawski delivers a similarly nuanced performance as David, bringing a haunting blankness to the role that allows for ambiguous interpretations of his emotions. His stare at times could be read as both vacant or aware, keeping both sons (and us as viewers) uncertain. Tomasz Pogoń, as Bartek, complements this dynamic with a performance that channels the household's unspoken strain into restless energy, making his outbursts at school feel almost inevitable.

It’s Bartek's growing troubles at school that become the crack that threatens to expose everything. After a fight, the school principal begins to pay closer attention to both boys' behavior and performance. This puts the carefully maintained facade at risk, forcing Kuba and Bartek to scramble to present a version of home life that will withstand scrutiny. Barbara Lubos-Święs delivers a wonderfully calibrated performance as the principal. Although she is initially presented as a strict disciplinarian intent on correcting behavior, her presence softens over the course of the film as she makes certain realizations about the boys' private struggles. Her performance enables the audience to adopt her empathetic lens, deepening the pathos of the story.

Saczek's film is impressive not only in its visual design and the strength of its performances, but also in its writing. The film's poignant closing note, which pays off the opening birthday notification, is a brilliant moment that celebrates a small win for Kuba and Bartek while also serving as a heartbreaking reminder of the difficult road they still have ahead. Taken together, Dad's Not Home suggests a filmmaker with a strong command of the craft.

Review by: Kevin Ward