They want to be heroes in their communions, and their plan is as crazy as it is daring. The eponymous altar boys in Piotr Domalewski’s film eavesdrop in the confessional and steal money from the parish safe – all for the good of the community. But goodwill is not always enough. What goes wrong? ‘The Altar Boys’ will be released in cinemas on 21 November. The trailer can already be watched online.

– ‘The Ministers’ is a film about finding justice in the world around us. The film is based on my personal experience growing up on a block of flats in a conservative community. The injustice of the world can be felt particularly painfully in such conditions. Like my peers, I sought escape in sport, but also in religion. I myself was an altar boy for 12 years in a small parish in eastern Poland. During these years I had the opportunity to experience and witness unusual phenomena and events that inspired me to write this film,” says Piotr Domalewski, the author of the screenplay and director of the film.

Could a breach of confessional secrecy be the start of a revolution? The altar boys will quickly find that in their world, even the most sacred rules can be undermined – and a rebellion that starts with an eavesdropper could take them much further than they had planned.

The first screenings of ‘Ministers’ will take place at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, where the film is nominated in the Main Competition.

Aurum Film, a studio known for titles such as ‘Corpus Christi’, ‘The Last Family’ and ‘Kos’, is responsible for the production. The roles of the title ‘Ministers’ are played by young, debuting actors: Tobiasz Wajda, Bruno Błach-Baar and the brothers Mikołaj and Filip Juszczyk. They are accompanied on screen by Polish film stars well known to the audience: Kamila Urzędowska, Tomasz Schuchardt, Sławomir Orzechowski and Artur Paczesny.

The film was co-produced with the Mazovian Cultural Institute and the Mazovia and Warsaw Film Fund, with the support of the Polish Film Institute.

The Polish distributor of the film is NEXT FILM.

Premiering on 21 November. In cinemas only.

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION:

A group of teenage altar boys, frustrated by the indifferent attitude of adults and the institutions of the Church towards social injustice, decide to implement their own unusual plan for moral renewal. Armed with youthful rebellion and their own interpretation of Scripture, they set up a bug… in the confessional to get to know their neighbours better. Masked like Zorro and with Robin Hood-like ambitions, they become judges in their neighbourhood world, helping those in need and meting out punishment for sins. However, their mission turns into a dangerous game and the boys, applying their own idealistic code of honour, begin to balance on the thin line between good and evil. Real block life is mixed with a mission straight out of superhero comics, but instead of capes, the heroes wear cameos.

FILM DETAILS

Premiere: 21.11.2025

Directed by: Piotr Domalewski

Screenplay: Piotr Domalewski

Photography: Piotr Sobociński Jr.

Editing: Agnieszka Glińska

Set design: Jagna Dobesz

Costumes: Aleksandra Staszko

Characterisation: Daria Siejak

Music: Wojciech Urbanski

Sound: Jerzy Murawski, Wojciech Mielimąka

Cast director: Nadia Lebik

Producers: Leszek Bodzak, Aneta Hickinbotham, Piotr Walter, Jarosław Jakubiec

Production: Aurum Film

Production manager: Marta Kapczyńska-Czwartosz

Co-production: Mazovia Cultural Institute, Mazovia and Warsaw Film Fund

Co-financed by: Polish Film Institute, Mazovia Province, City of Warsaw

Distribution in Poland: NEXT FILM

Starring: Tobiasz Wajda (Filip), Bruno Błach-Baar (Gucci), Mikołaj Juszczyk (Chicken), Filip Juszczyk (Little Chicken), Daria Kalinchuk (Dominika), Kamila Urzędowska (Filip’s mother), Tomasz Schuchardt (retreatant), Sławomir Orzechowski (parish priest), Artur Paczesny (Dominika’s father)