Films that tackle taboo topics are always unique experiences, and that's certainly the case with Agata Trzebuchowska's film Sick. The Polish film, which premiered at Fantastic Fest 2026, follows the story of 16-year-old Maks and his older sister Emma. Over the course of a suffocatingly hot summer, the siblings are forced into isolation in the countryside to take care of their sick grandmother. This situation leads the two's dynamic and relationship to slowly, yet surely, shift closer toward intimacy.
At Fantastic Fest, The Direct spoke with Sick director Agata Trzebuchowska and stars Konrad Kąkol (Maks) and Katarzyna Łubik (Emma) about their psychological horror movie that explores an unnervingly intimate sibling bond.
For more coverage from Fantastic Fest, be sure to check out The Direct's interviews with the filmmakers behind other horror movies such as Beware Bouina and The Heretiks.
Why Would a Sibling Relationship Get Intimate in the First Place?
"It's Totally a Product of the Situation They're Put In..."
- The Direct: "What did that [sibling] relationship look like before the film started? Was there always maybe something that appeared every now and then, or is this truly a product of the situation that they find themselves in throughout?"
Agata Trzebuchowska: For me, it's totally a product of the situation they're put in... But they grew up together basically because they are siblings. But in a way, she was not there because she had this very demanding career. So they are a bit of strangers to themselves as well. So this situation creates possibility for them to get to know each other, but also because of this isolation, they're like super bored, and they try to find a way to, you know, stay in touch with anything that feels alive. Yeah. So, yes, for me it's a product of the situation.
Konrad Kakol & Katarzyna Łubik on Finding Their Characters
Where Did They Begin With These Two Complicated Siblings?
- The Direct: "What were those opening steps of figuring out who this person was going to be in reality?"
Konrad Kakol: For me, I'm trying to start always when I'm building a character from my body, from my body language, and I think that it is pretty clear that Max is a bit autistic and like a closed close human being, and yeah, that was the most important thing to me, and as well, you know, the feelings that he has for Emma.
Katarzyna Łubik: I think I thought about Emma in the opposite way. I thought about her more intellectual, like she's in a really bad place. She faced some kind of failure because she didn't get into her dream tennis academy. So she has to go back to Poland. She has to go back to the Polish countryside. So she feels some kind of failure, and she's also struggling with depression, and she drinks a lot of alcohol and does some drugs during the movie. So she's really also, she's closed. I think she doesn't want to face her feelings. She wants to run away from it, and she, during the film, is finding some ways to do that, thanks to her brother, basically.
The full interviews with the creatives behind Sick are available below:
