Camerimage 2013 Nominated Best Cinematography Debut Jakub Kijowski    Chicago International Film Festival 2013 Nominated Audience Choice Award Tomasz Woszczynski    Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2013 Won East of West Award Tomasz Woszczynski    Montréal Festival of New Cinema 2013 Nominated Louve d''Or Tomasz Woszczynski    Polish Film Awards 2014 Nominated Eagle Best Supporting Actress (Najlepsza Drugoplanowa Rola Kobieca) Marta Nieradkiewicz    Transilvania International Film Festival 2014 Won Best Direction Tomasz Wasilewski    Zurich Film Festival 2013 Nominated Golden Eye Best International Feature Film Tomasz Woszczynski

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Strong and disciplined Kuba is sideswiped by the feelings unearthed when he meets handsome Mikal. Their connection is instantaneous and intoxicating, leaving Kuba to grapple with conflicting emotions. Suddenly his comfortable life with his girlfriend Sylwie is less interesting, and after training for fifteen years, his motivation to compete as a top-tier athlete dissipates. Unable to deny himself any longer, Kuba begins a relationship with Mikal. As Sylwie’s dreams of a life with Kuba slip away, Kuba accepts who he is and what he wants, only to find himself drowning in the destruction of his desires.

This intimate and bold second feature from Polish director Tomasz Wasilewski captures the myriad consequences of finding love in forbidden places. Mikal’s love acts as a vessel of self-liberation for Kuba amid the restrictive structures of Warsaw. With symbolism and an artful eye, Wasilewski illustrates the often-twisted nature of life, as the young men find happiness in each other within a dogmatic society.

Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2013

Floating Skyscrapers (Polish: Płynące wieżowce) is a 2013 Polish drama film written and directed by Tomasz Wasilewski, and starring Mateusz Banasiuk, Marta Nieradkiewicz, Bartosz Gelner and Katarzyna Herman. It follows the story of Kuba, an aspiring professional swimmer who falls in love with another man to the disapproval of his mother and to the surprise of his girlfriend, who tries to hold on to him and their relationship.

Premiering at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, the film is the first Polish production that primarily deals with the topic of same-sex relationships, and is often paired together with In the Name Of by Małgorzata Szumowska—which covers the same themes in a different manner—as films that attempt to challenge existing local social and cultural norms on homosexuality. Set in Warsaw, the film is noted for using the urban landscape and its largerly clean, straight aesthetic as a means of conveying the existence of these strict pre-existing social conventions, which the film''s storyline attempts to deviate from.

Reactions to the film by both critics and the general public were mixed. While some have praised the bravery of the film for covering a topic generally considered by Polish society to be taboo, as well as for its cinematography and soundtrack, others have criticized the film''s flat storyline and character development.