The first Polish home invasion horror will debut this summer on one of the boldest festival screens. Bartosz M. Kowalski’s film “13 Days Till Summer” has been invited to the Midnight Madness section of the 25th BNP Paribas New Horizons International Film Festival – the cult strand for viewers with strong nerves.
The film will be presented for the first time ahead of its nationwide release (scheduled for 8 August 2025). The screenings will be accompanied by meetings with the filmmakers.
A horror that could happen right next door
“13 Days Till Summer” is the first Polish home invasion horror, set in a world of smart homes, digital illusions of safety and a brutal confrontation with reality. When a group of teenagers gets together for a party and someone brings a mask and a crossbow instead of crisps, a fight for survival begins. Technology fails, and the house – a symbol of safety – turns into a prison.
The film is inspired by true stories of violence against young people and asks uncomfortable questions about the limits of indifference, the strength of the systems that were supposed to protect us, and what really lurks “right next door”.
The Midnight Madness section – where cinema breaks the mould
The Midnight Madness section is the most unpredictable part of the New Horizons IFF programme. Over the years it has shown films by such filmmakers as Gaspar Noé, Julia Ducournau and Brandon Cronenberg – extreme, uncompromising, experimental cinema. The section’s screenings are a celebration for fans of horror, thrillers and genre cinema in the broadest sense – cinema that is not afraid to cross aesthetic and narrative boundaries.
“13 Days Till Summer” fits this profile perfectly – it is a brutal, emotional story about how the greatest threat may lurk not in a dark forest, but in our own living room.
The screenings during the 25th BNP Paribas New Horizons International Film Festival (17-27 July) in Wrocław will be an opportunity to see the film before its official release. Audiences will also be able to meet director and co-writer Bartosz M. Kowalski, producer and co-writer Mirella Zaradkiewicz, and cast member Katarzyna Gałązka. Festival passes are on sale now. Dr Irena Eris is the partner of the Polish film screenings at the festival.
“13 Days Till Summer” opens in cinemas across Poland on 8 August. The film is distributed by NEXT FILM. The producer is Akson Studio.
