First...

40-year-old Marysia finds out that the baby she is expecting has an incurable genetic defect and probably will die soon after birth. A desperate woman makes a difficult decision to give birth to a child and donate its kidney to the sick little girl.

  • Adam Hartwiński
    Director
  • Aldona Hartwinska
    Writer
  • Adam Hartwiński
    Writer
  • Maciej Ślesicki
    Producer
  • Adam ` Hartwiński
    Producer
  • Michał Konopka
    Producer
  • Gabriela Czyżewska-Detmer
    Key Cast
    "Marysia"
  • Arek Detmer
    Key Cast
    "Krzysztof"
  • Anna Grycewicz
    Key Cast
    "Dorota"
  • Jacek Beler
    Key Cast
    "Dr Piotrowski"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Po pierwsze...
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    26 minutes 37 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 9, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    14,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Poland
  • Country of Filming:
    Poland
  • Language:
    Polish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Warsaw Film School
  • Arizona International Film Festival
    Tucson
    United States
    May 1, 2022
    North American Premiere
    Best Foreign Short
  • Ca' Foscari Short Film Festival
    Venice
    Italy
    May 6, 2022
    Semi-Finalist
  • Kameralne Lato
    Radom
    Poland
    July 9, 2021
    Polish premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Adam Hartwiński

For as long as he can remember he has been floating between two cultures - Polish and Swedish. Born in Warsaw, raised in Stockholm, where he completed film and documentary courses at Sundbyberg Folkhögskola. He returned to Poland to study. He graduated from Warsaw Film School. Works on film sets in Poland - both TV series and feature films.

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Director Statement

There is much to be learned from the voice of a suffering woman. And this voice is worth hearing.

There are many stories that can be told at the family table. But it is not easy to find one that can be made into a good movie. An important goal for a filmmaker is to make a movie that not only tells an interesting story, but is also a good way to show a different and not that obvious way to solve the problem which the heroes of the film struggle with. We believe that the film "First" raises a very sensitive and important issue.

The idea to make the film "First" was born out of two true stories. The first was the story of the youngest organ donor in British history. The newborn baby boy Teddy lived only two hours. Three minutes after his death, doctors at Cardiff University Hospital performed a pioneering operation to remove organs from a newborn. Teddy's liver saved the life of an adult man. Another inspiration for my story was the story of Ewelina, then 40, from Łodz (Poland), who learned that her unborn child suffers from anencephaly. Ewelina, a deeply religious Catholic, decided not to have an abortion. She wanted to donate the child's organs for transplant. She learned that such operations are not performed in Poland and no life was saved then. But there IS a way!

We believe that the story of our heroine, 40-year-old Marysia, is worth hearing. Her voice is the voice of hundreds of women in Poland and women around the world who may face a similar decision.