Suicide Room

Dominik is the product of a marriage driven by success and ambition between Andrzei, a businessman, and his wife Beata. There are only one hundred days to go before Dominik will leave the country’s finest school with what his parents hope will be excellent grades. From this point on, the world of academia will be his oyster and all he – or rather his parents – will have to do is choose between top courses. His parents are convinced: only the best ever get on in life; only those who take success for granted will make it. But one hundred days can be a very long time – especially when you’re expected to function while submitting to the pecking order and other social demands at an elite school. Social competence is not one of the businessman’s son’s strong points. A series of humiliating experiences with a fellow-student nudges Dominik’s world dangerously off kilter and, when he discovers the comments his classmates have posted about him on a social network website this puts an end to his self-confidence, motivation and concentration. Unable to bear the thought of school any more, Dominik withdraws, drifting into a virtual world where there are no hateful classmates. Online he pseudonymously meets Sylwia who tells him she plans to commit suicide. She also introduces him to her friends in the ‘suicide room’, a chat room for people with suicidal tendencies. Dominik allows Sylwia to lure him into a dangerous game, but before long things begin to get out of control because the chat is designed to shock the outside world rather than help users with their personal problems. –Berlinale