Upon returning from film school in Poland to his home in Chicago for summer break, Tom Krawczyk finds that his family has an unexpected new member. In his absence, his mother Czesława Krawczyk-Miczejko has taken in an infant squirrel that seems to have fallen out of its nest and been left for dead in their yard. In his film My Duduś – the loving name his mother gave to the fragile creature – Krawczyk chronicles how she nursed the squirrel back to health with love and care until, inevitably, she had to let go. Krawczyk’s tender portrait mines big emotions from a small story, forming a tribute to his mother’s caring spirit and a study of the precarious nature of human-animal relationships.
What happened when one woman raised an abandoned squirrel as her own
Director: Tom Krawczyk
Producer: Nick J Santore

videoAnimals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes

videoFamily life
‘I think animals are the thing. Not people.’ Two brothers, and the wild company they keep
9 minutes

videoNature and landscape
A year-long observation reveals the secret life of a tree and its animal visitors
3 minutes

videoThe environment
It’s man vs invasive pest in the battle to save Britain’s beloved red squirrels
18 minutes

videoLove and friendship
After 30 years of solitude, Peter forms an unlikely friendship with a fellow loner
10 minutes

videoLove and friendship
Meeting your boyfriend’s family is hard. Agata must travel 3,000 miles. And she’s blind
13 minutes

videoSports and games
Life as a young referee: you get berated on the pitch; at home, mother does it too
17 minutes

videoLove and friendship
Can you find ‘home’ in another person? What it’s like to follow love across borders
5 minutes

videoLove and friendship
What does it mean to say goodbye to a creature that doesn’t know you’re leaving?
13 minutes