Jaśmina Wójcik – King Matt the First

Jaśmina Wójcik – King Matt the First
Screening and Q&A
8th November 2025

Address: WET, Hillevliet 90 (3rd floor), Rotterdam
Time: 13:00-16:00
Free childcare available

We are thrilled to invite you to a screening of King Matt the First (2025, 75 mins, Polish with English subtitles) by Jaśmina Wójcik, a very special film in which the director points the camera towards her two daughters in an attempt to reimagine the world as seen through the eyes of children.

During the event there will be free childcare available (for children 2yo+). No RSVP required. Please drop us an email at info@wetfilm.org if you have any further questions.

Programme:
13:00 – doors + soup (v) + start childcare
14:00 – screening (75min) + Q&A with Jaśmina Wójcik
16:00 – end childcare

King Matt the First is a contemplative journey into the intimate lives of sisters Zoja and Lea, who share a strong bond and a deep-seated fear of crossing the threshold into adulthood. Made in collaboration with children and is based on the principles of grassroots education, the film tells a story of sisterhood and the inevitability of growing up, thus asking the question of whether it is possible to save one’s inner child and preserve a certain type of sensitivity and courage that we have as children.

The film takes inspiration from the eponymous Król Maciuś Pierwszy (King Matt the First), a novel by Janusz Korczak (1878-1942). Korczak was a Polish-Jewish educator, doctor and writer, whose daily practices, research, and writings were dedicated to understanding children, their subjectivity, vulnerability, and the right to self-determination.

Jaśmina Wójcik is a visual artist, film director, educator and activist. Her practice is participatory and socially engaged, following principles of shared authorship and horizontal dialogue. She works with long-term commitments with marginalised communities, together trying to articulate their collective expression. Alongside her practice as artist and filmmaker, she works in empathic education, developing practices for children’s artistic expression. Wójcik is the author of the award-winning creative documentary Symphony of the Ursus Factory (2018) screened widely at film festivals and has exhibited her works in the context of art institutions. She is a mother to two children and spends every free moment with his family in nature, observing non-human beings, treating them with special attention and esteem.