Forget about well-behaved boys from religion class. The Altar Boys, the new film by Piotr Domalewski (Silent Night, I Never Cry, Sexify), is a raw and unfiltered coming-of-age story where youth, faith, and rebellion collide with a reality in which the line between sin and justice becomes dangerously thin.
A group of friends from a housing estate — altar boys in their local parish — install a hidden microphone in the confessional. At first, they act like teenage Robin Hoods: aiming to help the weak and take down local “evil.” But as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The boys quickly find themselves at odds with the Church hierarchy — and their own moral compass. What starts as a noble mission turns into a risky game where it becomes harder and harder to tell who’s really on the side of light.
Sounds like a superhero origin story? Perhaps. Except these boys wear albs instead of capes, and their gritty metropolis is a sleepy Polish town where faith meets frustration and a sense of powerlessness.
The film balances drama and dark humor with a style that feels more like a rap manifesto than a school catechism. The Altar Boys doesn’t shy away from asking bold questions about religion, community, guilt, and redemption — but it does so without preaching. Instead, it hits with honesty, emotion, and the power of a raw, authentic voice.
Produced by Aurum Film — the studio behind Corpus Christi, The Last Family, and Kos — the film stars a cast of rising young talents: Tobiasz Wajda, Bruno Błach-Baar, and brothers Mikołaj and Filip Juszczyk. They are joined by acclaimed Polish actors Kamila Urzędowska, Tomasz Schuchardt, Sławomir Orzechowski, and Artur Paczesny. The film will be distributed in Poland by NEXT FILM.
We’re stepping into the confessional. The wire is live. We know what’s on your conscience.
Premiere: November 21.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:
A group of teenage altar boys, disillusioned by the Church’s indifference to social injustice, decide to take matters into their own hands. Armed with youthful defiance and their own interpretation of the Scriptures, they install a bug in the confessional to “better understand” their neighbors. Masked like Zorro and driven by a sense of justice worthy of Robin Hood, they become judges in their local world — helping the needy and punishing sinners. But their mission quickly turns into a dangerous game, and the boys — following their own idealistic code of honor — begin to tread a fine line between good and evil.
Real life on the estate blends with a comic-book-style crusade, except these heroes wear albs, not capes.
FILM DETAILS
Premiere: November 21, 2025
Directed by: Piotr Domalewski
Written by: Piotr Domalewski
Cinematography: Piotr Sobociński Jr.
Editing: Agnieszka Glińska
Production Design: Jagna Dobesz
Costume Design: Aleksandra Staszko
Make-up: Daria Siejak
Music: Wojciech Urbański
Sound: Jerzy Murawski, Wojciech Mielimąka
Casting Director: Nadia Lebik
Producers: Leszek Bodzak, Aneta Hickinbotham, Piotr Walter, Jarosław Jakubiec
Production: Aurum Film
Production Manager: Marta Kapczyńska-Czwartosz
Co-produced by: Mazovian Institute of Culture, Mazovian and Warsaw Film Funds
Supported by: Polish Film Institute, Mazovian Voivodeship, the City of Warsaw
Polish Distributor: NEXT FILM
Cast:
Tobiasz Wajda (Filip)
Bruno Błach-Baar (Gucci)
Mikołaj Juszczyk (Kurczak)
Filip Juszczyk (Mały Kurczak)
Daria Kalinchuk (Dominika)
Kamila Urzędowska (Filip’s mother)
Tomasz Schuchardt (Retreat Preacher)
Sławomir Orzechowski (Parish Priest)
Artur Paczesny (Dominika’s father)