Scars

Fifteen-year-old Anička learns that her best friend is moving to another town. Sudden loneliness, conflicts with her parents, and stress at school gradually take their toll on her mental health. Relief comes from her new friend Kris, whose personality is shaped by her psychiatric diagnosis and experience in psychiatric hospitals. With Kris’s help, Anička self-diagnoses several psychiatric disorders, but her parents ignore her pleas to seek professional help. Anička, therefore, has no choice but to seek advice and comfort from Kris and the endless stream of videos on TikTok, where she finds many other peers with similar problems. One day, after a dramatic event, Anička ends up in a psychiatric hospital. She makes new friends and partially reassesses her perception of her own conditions. But the battle hasn’t been won just yet. Scars tell a contemporary story about mental health problems, the challenges of growing up and the influence of social media on the experiences of young people.