Agata Trzebuchowska is stepping behind the camera. The actress who starred in the Oscar-winning IDA has made her feature directorial debut with SICK, and it’s already generating buzz.

Berlin-based Pluto Film just picked up worldwide sales rights ahead of the film’s world premiere at Fantastic Fest this month, with a European bow at Sitges Film Festival following in October.

SICK follows sixteen-year-old Maks and his older sister Emma, who are sent to rural Poland to care for their ailing grandmother during summer break. Trapped in the oppressive heat and isolation, their sibling relationship shifts into something darker and more disturbing. It’s billed as “the horror of growing up,” not your typical coming-of-age tale.

Trzebuchowska wrote and directed the film, which stars Konrad Kąkol, Katarzyna Łubik, Monika Niemczyk, Julian Świeżewski, and Eliza Rycembel. Patryk Sielecki and Adrianna Rędzia produced through Polish company Lumisenta.

After earning an EFA nomination for IDA, Trzebuchowska’s shorts HEAT and VACANCY screened at Sundance and festivals worldwide. She’s already prepping two more features: THIS IS NO PLACE FOR YOU, a Polish-French co-production, and URKE, a surreal mockumentary.

For indie filmmakers looking to break through with bold, unconventional stories, this is a solid blueprint: start with shorts, build festival cred, then go all in on something uncompromising.