Growing Up
A boy crouches in a dark stairwell, looking up at a punching bag hanging in front of a bright window
Young DOK, DOK Leipzig 2026

“Mom, I want to be a champion”

Growing Up

A feature documentary by Adam Roszkowski

Trailer & Teaser

About the film

Everyone has dreams. Statistically, only a few percent of people reach their long-term goals.

Łukasz in a red boxing vest sits against a teal wall, arms folded, head tilted back

Over five years, we watch a teenage boxer grow up as he dreams of winning the title of Polish junior champion.

The film is observational, rooted in the tradition of Polish documentary cinema. What matters most here is the person and the process he goes through. The ring becomes a metaphor for a fight that also takes place outside sport: for independence, for his own identity and for the courage to live his youth on his own terms.

We stay with him in moments that happen only once and become turning points in his life. Among them: leaving the family home for the best boxing school, more than 500 km away, a budding romance, and training so intense it costs him his childhood.

An intimate observation of coming of age, caught between dreams, physical and mental pain, and brief moments of happiness. A film about a fight that begins far outside the ring, at a very young age.

Artistic supervision: Marcel Łoziński

Format
Feature documentary
Running time
70 min 36 s
Country
Poland
Language
Polish
Subtitles
English
Aspect ratio
16/9 and CinemaScope
Sound
5.1 / Stereo
Completed
August 2026

News

Main Dramatic Threads in the Film

Łukasz in a dark hoodie sits alone on a bench in an empty weightlifting gym, head bowed

The transformation of 15⁠-⁠year-old Łukasz into a grown man

Łukasz and his mother talk in a sunlit room, seen through a half-open door

Łukasz’s relationship with his mother

Olimpia embraces Łukasz at dusk under the trees

Łukasz’s relationship with Olimpia

Silhouette of a young boxer walking down a long, dark corridor

The pursuit of a sporting goal

Protagonists

Łukasz Perkowski in red headgear and boxing gloves as his coach adjusts the headgear

Łukasz Perkowski

Boxer, the film’s main protagonist

Monika Perkowska looks at her son Łukasz as they hold the same handrail

Monika Perkowska

Łukasz’s mother

Olimpia Konczalska smiles as she spars with Łukasz in a boxing ring

Olimpia Konczalska

Łukasz’s girlfriend

Crew & Production

Portrait of director Adam Roszkowski

Adam Roszkowski

Director, producer

He graduated in Journalism from the University of Warsaw, completed the DOK PRO and SCRIPT programs at the Wajda School and the postgraduate program for Creative Producers at the Łódź Film School. He gained experience at the Polish channels TVN, TVN24 and nSport and the Canadian broadcasters Omni Television and Citytv. He was Editor-in-Chief at Red Bull, creates content for Red Bull Media House and runs the production company Okay Films.

Growing Up is his feature debut as director and producer. While still being shot, the film won the main award in the Work in Progress category at the Portuguese festival FEST New Directors | New Films. Its world premiere will take place at the 69th DOK Leipzig.

He directed a social spot for “The Invisible”, a campaign about the homelessness crisis that won awards at KTR, Eurobest and Golden Drum, among others.

Portrait of cinematographer Jakub Wójcik

Jakub Wójcik

Cinematography

A graduate of the Łódź Film School and the Wajda School. Twice nominated at Camerimage for the cinematography of Symbiofonia. He has gained experience working with both digital and analog techniques. He has shot films on large-scale fiction productions as well as in small, intimate documentary crews. He has also collaborated on sports films such as Fighter, The Last Challenge, and Unfold TaZ - about a pioneer of Polish esports.

Portrait of editor Jerzy Zawadzki

Jerzy Zawadzki PSM

Editor

A graduate of the Łódź Film School and a member of the Polish Editors Association. He received the main award at the Krakow Film Festival for editing the sports documentary The Unstoppable. The film Close Ties, which he edited, was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

Composer Antoni Wojnar at the piano

Antoni Wojnar

Composer

Antoni Wojnar is a film composer, songwriter, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He graduated from the F. Chopin Secondary Music School (PSM II) in Warsaw and the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk. Between 2017 and 2021, he served as the music assistant to Academy Award-winning composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek. He has arranged and orchestrated music for films including Valley of the Gods, The Happy Worker, Death of Zygielbojm, Paul, Apostle of Christ, as well as the Silesian Rhapsody.

Production

Production
Okay Films
Producer
Adam Roszkowski
Associate producer
Małgorzata Kopeć
Film partner
Wajda Studio
Developed at
Wajda School, DOK PRO documentary program
Artistic consultants
Vita Zelacevitiue, Maciej Cuske, Piotr Żurawski
Co-production
Mazovian Institute of Culture, Mazovian and Warsaw Film Fund, West Pomeranian Film Fund Pomerania Film
Co-financed by
Polish Film Institute
Sound
Martyna Gromotka
Color grading
Edyta Sęk-Koniarska

Partners

  • Okay Films
  • Wajda Studio
  • Wajda School
  • DOK PRO
  • Polish Film Institute
  • Mazovia Warsaw Film Fund
  • The Mazovia Institute of Culture
  • Mazovia
  • City of Warsaw
  • Pomerania Film
  • Polish Boxing Association

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