We Are Still Here

Two lives collide at support group for accidental killers — she seeks meaning, he seeks a victim.

At APWAKS, a support group for accidental killers, Uber driver Tola pretends to belong to find her mother’s killer — but when postman Błażej plans to kill again, this time on purpose, the group becomes a chaotic hunt for truth, guilt and connection.

Main production country: Poland

Producer's note

We Are Still Here is currently in development stage, and we’re proud to be shaping the project within the framework of the MIDPOINT Institute’s Series Launch programme. This collaboration has already contributed meaningfully to the evolution of the story and the production strategy.
Originally conceived as writer Ola Hulbój’s diploma project, the series has grown significantly in scope and ambition. It is important to say that we know with Ola from our Filmshool in Łódź and we were collaborating on a few short projects already. We have a huge trust between us and I really believe in the project.
Over the past months, we’ve built a solid creative foundation: we have a first-draft pilot script, a comprehensive pitch presentation, and a pre-defined narrative and visual concept. We’re also preparing to produce a development trailer to support outreach and financing efforts in the coming months.
The series blends psychological drama, dark comedy, romance, and slow-burn mystery. It explores themes such as grief, guilt, dissociation, emotional numbness, and the search for identity — all through a distinctive, ironic lens. Its tonal hybridity and emotional depth give the story universal resonance, making it relatable to audiences across cultures.
The story universalism, the tone, mood and humor were already checked by our colleagues during the MIDPOINT workshops, we saw them during the readings — moved to tears one moment, laughing uncontrollably the next.
For this reason, we strongly believe We Are Still Here should not be developed as an exclusive original for a single broadcaster. Instead, we aim to retain the IP, allowing the project to live beyond its initial in the future.
We are very pleased to already have an official letter of intent from Czech production company Frame Films, who have expressed strong interest in co-producing the series. Their early commitment is a key step toward establishing a European co-production model for the project. We discussed the potential cooperation on creative positions and during the development - with the contribution of script doctor - Milada Tesitelova.
From a production strategy perspective, we are currently in contact with several Polish broadcasters and vod platforms, and we are waiting for their feedback to secure domestic development financing. At the same time, we are actively seeking partners and broadcasters from other European countries, to create a multi-country structure that reflects the project's potential and ambition.
We also plan to assign key post-production roles — such as music composition and color grading — to companies based in other EU countries. We firmly believe that international creative collaboration strengthens the artistic, technical, and market reach of a project — especially one that crosses genres and emotions the way We Are Still Here does.
In terms of financing, we are at the very beginning of the process, which makes our submission for the TV Beats Co-Financing Market an especially exciting milestone — it could mark the very first public presentation of the project. We would be very eager to introduce We Are Still Here to the international industry and begin building new partnerships.

• Piotr Śmiechowski

Screenwiter's note

– So, how’s your son? Is he holding up?

– Hard to say… It’s his first suicide.

– The first one’s always the hardest. You stop taking it personally after a few. Otherwise you’d lose your mind.

– How many have you had?

– Eight, I think… And you?

– Four.
That’s a real conversation I once overheard between two train conductors. At first, I laughed at the absurdity of it. Then it terrified me — the quiet truth that people can get used to almost anything, even to having killed someone, just to stay sane.
The idea for We’re Still Here grew from my obsession with the question “why?”. I used to believe everything must have meaning — until life proved otherwise. The line between tragedy and laughter became razor-thin.
Tola is hiding behind sarcasm, pretending nothing gets to her; Błażej can’t stop searching for meaning, even where there is none; Grażyna narrates the chaos to keep from falling apart - I see parts of myself in all of them.
We live in a world obsessed with moving on, where grief must be tidy and private. This show was born from the need to speak about pain without pretension. Because what hurts the most doesn’t always scream — sometimes it laughs through clenched teeth.
We’re Still Here is a story about refusing to “get over it.” About being lost, absurd, alive — and still here.
Subjects:
childhood, humour, absurd, death, support, grief, friendship, LGBTQ, mental health, love, child parent relationships, first love