Slow Light (2022) is an animated short film by Katarzyna Kijek and Przemysław Adamski. Experience this beautiful and innovative work of animation. A story of a man who can only see the past.
💡 Slow Light (2022) — Animated Short Film by Katarzyna Kijek and Przemysław Adamski
A poetic, surreal meditation on time, memory, and the weight of the past, Slow Light is the kind of animated short that stays with you long after the credits fade. Written and directed by Katarzyna Kijek and Przemysław Adamski, this Polish‑Portuguese co‑production uses a striking blend of tactile stop‑motion and delicate 2D animation to tell the story of a man who literally lives years behind everyone else.
🧭 Overview
- Genre: Animation / Drama / Surrealism
- Directors & Writers: Katarzyna Kijek & Przemysław Adamski
- Producers: Piotr Szczepanowicz, Grzegorz Wacławek (Animoon), Bruno Caetano (COLA Animation)
- Runtime: ~11 minutes
- Country: Poland 🇵🇱 / Portugal 🇵🇹
- Language: English (narration)
- Voice: Philip Lenkowsky
- Music: Piotr Kaliński 🎼
- Animation techniques: Stop‑motion for the present, 2D animation for the past
- Festival highlights: Krakow Film Festival, Galway Film Fleadh, DOK Leipzig, Bucheon International Animation Festival, London International Animation Festival (Audience Award), Tirana International Film Festival (Best Animation Short), Bentonville Film Festival (Best Animated Short)
Watch full short:
📖 Story in Brief
A boy is born blind. At age seven, he suddenly begins to see — but doctors discover his eyes are so unusually dense that light takes seven years to reach his retina.
This means every image he perceives is already seven years old. He sees the world not as it is, but as it was.
As he grows into adulthood, this delay becomes a prison:
- He reacts to events long after they’ve happened.
- His reflections are always on moments that have already slipped away.
- He is never truly “present,” forever lingering in the past.
The film follows him through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, showing how this condition shapes his relationships, his understanding of reality, and his sense of self.
🛠️ Creative “Tools” & Style
- Dual visual worlds:
- Stop‑motion — tactile, textured, representing the “present” he can physically touch but not yet see.
- 2D animation — fluid, dreamlike, representing the “past” he finally perceives years later.
- Metaphorical design: The eye condition becomes a visual metaphor for emotional delay, nostalgia, and the human tendency to live in memories.
- Sound design: Carlos Abreu & Miguel Gonçalves create an aural space where echoes and muffled tones mirror the protagonist’s temporal disconnection.
- Narration: Philip Lenkowsky’s voiceover is calm, almost detached — as if telling a story already resigned to its fate.
✅ Pros & ❌ Cons
Pros
- 🎯 Conceptual originality: A literal delay in sight as a metaphor for living in the past.
- 🎨 Visual richness: The contrast between stop‑motion and 2D is both beautiful and purposeful.
- 🎭 Emotional resonance: Speaks to anyone who’s struggled to be present.
- 🏆 Festival acclaim: Multiple awards and international recognition.
Cons
- ⏳ Abstract pacing: Viewers seeking a conventional plot may find it slow.
- 🌀 Melancholic tone: Its reflective sadness may not suit all moods.
🌟 Themes & Resonance
- Time & perception: How our experience of the world is shaped by when we receive it.
- Memory vs. presence: The danger of living too much in what’s already gone.
- Emotional maturity: The protagonist’s “delay” mirrors the way some people take years to process life’s events.
- Universality: Though fantastical, the story reflects a very human struggle — catching up to ourselves.
👥 Who Is It For?
- Animation lovers: Fans of inventive, mixed‑media storytelling.
- Philosophical cinephiles: Viewers drawn to metaphor‑driven narratives.
- Festival audiences: Those who appreciate art‑house pacing and layered meaning.
💡 Humanized Takeaway
Slow Light is about more than a rare eye condition — it’s about the way we all sometimes live in delay, replaying old moments instead of inhabiting the now. Kijek and Adamski turn this idea into a visual poem, reminding us that the present is fleeting, and the past — no matter how vivid — is always out of reach.
🔍 Find More & Support
- Official Slow Light page — synopsis, credits, and making‑of details.
- YouTube showcase — watch the film and see its award history.
- IMDb listing — full cast, crew, and festival record.