Planned film therapy is therapy that happens on a film set. People with and without disabilities make a film together, from the first idea to the premiere — out in the field, shoulder to shoulder. The journey matters as much as the finished shot.
The biggest obstacle for a person with a disability is often an able-bodied person — because it’s they who decide in advance what’s supposedly impossible.
That’s why here, we try first. If something doesn’t work, we look for a solution instead of assuming it can’t be done. The film set is a place where that boundary shifts a little further every day. — Marcin Kondraciuk, creator of the method
Picture a real film set: a camera, a boom mic, a clapperboard, a crew running between takes. Now picture that crew made up of people with disabilities — and it’s them acting, filming, recording sound and editing.
Put simply: planned film therapy is therapy that takes place on a film set. It isn’t about watching films on difficult topics and talking about them. It’s about making a film together — from the first idea, through filming on location, all the way to a premiere in front of an audience.
Why film, specifically? Because it’s work where there’s a place for everyone. One person acts in front of the camera, another sets the lighting, someone else looks after props, records sound, or prompts lines. Everyone has a real task that the others depend on. That’s how the feeling that I am needed is born.
We call it “planned” because the therapy happens right there on the film set — in real motion, outdoors, beyond the walls of a care centre. A film set can be tiring and unpredictable, but it’s exactly those conditions that teach patience, cooperation, self-control and responsibility — naturally, without artificial exercises.
For us, the finished film isn’t the most important thing. What matters most is the journey — what a person experiences and learns along the way. The finished film is beautiful proof of that, but it’s the process that changes people.
One more thing: this change runs both ways. Able-bodied people who work alongside our participants change too — they re-examine their own fears and assumptions. Often it’s they who discover how much is possible once you stop assuming it “can’t be done”.
“All of planned film therapy really fits in one sentence: we let people make a real film. The rest happens by itself.”
It started with one question I heard during occupational therapy workshops: “when do we get to be in a film?”. I didn’t have a ready-made method or a handbook back then — I had a camera, a crew of enthusiasts, and the conviction that film is work where there’s room for everyone. That’s how planned film therapy was born.
I call it “planned” because the whole therapy happens on a film set. Not in a room, not at a table — in real motion, out in the field, usually outdoors. It’s a simple shift, but it changes everything: instead of watching the world, we go out into it and film it.
The most important word is “together”. On set, no one is alone and no one is unnecessary. One person acts, another holds the mic, someone sets the lighting, someone looks after props, someone prompts lines. The tasks interlock — and that’s exactly why responsibility is born: if I don’t do my part, I hold up the whole crew.
People with and without disabilities work side by side here — also after hours, on the road, around the campfire. There’s no divide between “therapists” and “patients”. There’s a film crew with a shared goal.
I have one iron rule: show, guide, and step back. I don’t do things for people, and I don’t hover. I show how to do something, I assist — and then I step away to leave room for independence. We repeat a task as many times as it takes until it works. No special treatment, because real trust is built through real tasks.
I don’t ask what someone’s degree of disability is — I ask what they want to do. A task shown the right way can unlock abilities nobody knew about before. Often not even the person themself.
Almost everything we do follows from this simple setup. The participant stops being a spectator of their own life and becomes a co-creator. They learn patience, coordination, memory and emotional control — not through exercises, but through real work whose result can later be shown on screen.
At the end comes the premiere. The participant walks on stage as an author — and often, for the first time, hears applause not because they “managed despite everything”, but because they made something genuinely good. For many families, it’s a moment they never forget.
And one more thing, the most important to me: this change runs both ways. The participant changes, but so does the able-bodied world around them. Because the biggest barrier — the belief that “it can’t be done” — is usually one we able-bodied people carry in our own heads.
— Marcin Kondraciuk, creator of planned film therapy
Traditional sessions are often confined to four walls of a care centre. We flip that around: instead of watching a film, participants make one — in a real crew, out in the field, with full responsibility for the result.
Dynamic, changeable, unpredictable — it teaches you to handle change, coordination, memory and self-control in a natural way, without artificial exercises.
Actor, camera operator, sound engineer, set designer, editor. We match the scope to each person’s ability, but the emphasis is on independence — a task is repeated until it succeeds.
We work simultaneously through visual art, photography, music, choreography, set design and acting. Everyone finds a language in which they can express themselves.
It isn’t only the person with a disability who changes. Their able-bodied surroundings change too, re-examining their own fears and stereotypes. We learn from each other.
What matters most isn’t the finished piece, but what the participant experiences along the way. We guide every project through a series of stages — like frames on a strip of film.
We start with a conversation. We get to know each other, explain the goal, get comfortable with the space, and break through the fear of the unknown. Without trust, nothing moves forward.
This is when you can get close to the equipment and find out it won’t bite or topple over when you start using it. We learn what each thing is for and how it shapes the whole.
We run through scenarios that require using every piece of gear: lights, clapperboard, sound and camera. This is when the crew starts speaking the language of film — and becomes a team.
Working as a crew, out in the field. Participants act and operate the equipment, taking responsibility for tasks. We show, we guide — then we step back, leaving room for independence.
We sit down and think about what went well and what’s worth changing. We drink tea and eat something good together — it has to feel like the movies.
After a rough cut, we talk through individual scenes and what a change of pace does to them. We show that the shoot is one thing, but the art continues.
Voice recordings, narration, music. This is where a sense of continuity is born: “what we were doing is turning into a real film”.
A screening in front of an audience — a moment of recognition and a rite of passage. Participants walk on stage as full-fledged creators. It’s often the most powerful moment of the whole journey.
It’s up to us whether we stay in this place or move forward.
The fullest form of the method: the whole crew makes one film together — from idea, through location shooting, to premiere. This is how “The Road to Understanding” was made.
Multi-day workshops for small groups, each ending with its own film. We developed this format, among others, in the “Doors to Normality” project across municipalities of Upper Silesia.
Over nine editions (the last in 2015), it gave a stage to young creators with disabilities. It isn’t held today — we want to bring it back.
The films themselves tell the story of the method best — from short workshop pieces to our feature film and the documentary made about its creation.
These are two sides of the same story. “The Road to Understanding” is our feature film, made entirely by the participants. “The Other Film” is an independently produced documentary by Studio Wajda, built around the making of “The Road to Understanding”. One shows the result — the other shows the journey.
Feature
A fictional story about three friends with disabilities who set out on an adventure-filled journey to Radzanów. The whole film — from casting, through the shooting camp, to editing — was made by the participants’ own hands. It’s the fullest proof of what planned film therapy is.
Documentary
An independently produced documentary built around the making of “The Road to Understanding”. It’s a portrait of people with disabilities and a story about the power of cinema to break down barriers and let you into someone else’s world. An outside project, made by a crew from the Wajda School — and one of the most important voices speaking about our method.
“The Other Film” was one of Brygida’s last major documentaries — which is why it also remains a tribute to her, for us. A director, screenwriter and reporter associated with TVP Katowice, and a graduate of Andrzej Wajda’s Master School of Film Directing. Her films focused on people and social issues.
She died tragically along with her husband and young son on 23 October 2014; she was posthumously awarded the Gold Cross of Merit. She left behind films that still speak in her name — and that helped tell the story of our work.
Alongside the workshop films, we also made productions tied to the festival. Each features people with intellectual disabilities, with guest appearances from well-known creators — including CeZik (Cezary Nowak), a musician and YouTuber from Gliwice.
Over the years, the press has written, television has talked, and websites have discussed planned film therapy. Click a clipping to enlarge it and browse through the rest. PDF materials will open in a new tab.
Materials from the archive of the Gliwice Film Club “Wrota”. Publication rights belong to their respective publishers.
The method was born from a simple question one participant asked during a session: “when do we get to be in a film?”. Here are the key milestones of that journey.
The International “Drzwi” Film Festival launches, alongside the first planned film therapy activities with occupational therapy workshop participants.
Our feature film is made — from casting, through the shooting camp, to a gala premiere where the creators take the stage.
We bring the method to further municipalities of Upper Silesia in workshop form — each group makes its own short film.
After nine years, the festival holds its final edition. It remains one of our most important projects — and one we want to bring back.
We want to resume our sessions and filmmaking. This site is an invitation to help create the next chapter together.
This therapy involves getting to know the art of film from the other side — making a film through every stage of production. While working, participants develop interests in visual art, photography, choreography, acting, music and set design, learning cooperation and a critical view of themselves.
In the years 2007–2015, when planned film therapy was thriving the most, many wonderful people built it and carried it forward. It’s thanks to their commitment that the method went out into the field and reached new towns.
They are the faces and the benchmark of participation in planned film therapy — heroes on screen and the heart of our crew. Thank you.
Our work through a photographer’s eye
Want to run film sessions with your group? Get in touch with us. And if you have a different idea, don’t hesitate even more.
A nationwide Polish portal on film therapy — using cinema as a starting point for conversations about emotions and difficult social topics. Reviews, psychology articles, and the recurring “Film Therapy with a Purpose” screenings.
Visit filmoterapia.pl → Source: filmoterapia.pl