Sardinia (film)

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Sardinia
Official Poster
Directed by	Paul Kowalski
Written by	Paul Kowalski
Produced by	Paul Kowalski Patton Oswalt Stephanie Furtun Daniel Leighton
Starring	Philip Ettinger Martha Plimpton Olek Krupa Breeda Wool
Production company	PKino Films
Release date	July 26, 2024 (2024-07-26)
Running time	19 minutes
Countries	United States, Poland
Languages	English, Polish

Sardinia is a 2024 satirical drama short film written and directed by Paul Kowalski, about a serious man who tries to avoid catching a deadly laughing plague in a growingly polarized and dystopian society.^[1]

The film is Executive Produced by Patton Oswalt, who called the film "an effortlessly original piece of work" and "beyond timely”^[2], and stars Philip Ettinger, Emmy-winner Martha Plimpton, Olek Krupa and Breeda Wool.^[3]

Sardinia won Grand Prize Best Director at the 42nd Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival, after world premiering at the 2024 Indy Shorts film festival.^[4] In November 2024, Deadline named the film an Oscar contender for 2025 Best Live Action Short.^[5]

After an exotic bird arrives from Sardinia to a US port, a serious Polish-American man called Ryszard Przybyszewski notices his work colleagues stricken with uncontrollable laughter – despite finding himself immune. With news arising that a contagion disrupting nerve signaling and causing fatal laughter is spreading around the globe, Ryszard tries his best to protect his unruly Polish immigrant father and jovial wife, all the while trying to survive in an increasingly dystopian and glum society.

• Philip Ettinger as Ryszard Przybyszewski
• Olek Krupa as Grzegorz Przybyszewski
• Martha Plimpton as Judith
• Breeda Wool as Hilary

• Official website
• Sardinia at IMDb