"THE WORD" PRESS CONFERENCE

The screening of Polish Films Competition entrant The Word was proceeded by the introduction of director Anna Kazejak, and cinematographer Klaudiusz Dwulit. Kazejak said it was “stressful” to enter a film that has already had its premier, but was pleased to see such a large turnout. The press conference was held with both Kazejak, and Dwulit, and was coordinated/translated by Zbigniew Banas. Banas led off the questions by asking both of them about their collaboration together for this film, which is their first since Ode To Joy in 2005. Both answered the question primarily with the word difficult, stating that though they have a fantastic relationship, they found working together on this film exceptionally challenging. When asked by Banas about their full history together, Kazejak answered that they have known each other since childhood with their parents being good friends. They attended film school together which is where their collaboration first began with student films. She continued saying that their work together on The Word was meant to be a return to their roots, that meaning the aesthetic from their earlier work together. Dwulit then answered that their work was fraught with fluctuations; many ups and downs, and that this maybe explained their long break in collaboration.

Anna Kazejak, photo by Wiola Łabędź

The next questions centered more on the film itself. Kazejak again stated that she knew she wanted to work with Dwulit on this because of their shared views regarding realism in film. “We are inspired by the same things” she said. Kazejak touched on the trend of Polish photography and film to all go to the same style, and there is a lack of those that capture true realism. She believed Dwulit was the one to help her craft something that would break that trend. She also stated that she will soon begin working with international cinematographers as a means of expanding horizons. She wants to focus on reality and truth in films, not just story-telling. The next set of questions referred to the film depicting two almost separate worlds, that of the teenagers, and that of the parents, and how does the director relate to each side. Kazejak answered that the two sides are not all that different, and that it is more a lack of communication that separates them. She said she can identify with both sides, and that this is necessary in order to direct the film. Dwulit added that the film was not meant to depict the difference between the protagonist Lila and her parents, but rather highlight the evil that exists in all of them, and that tragedy can occur in any setting or situation.

Klaudiusz Dwulit, photo by Sylwester Rozmiarek

The audience was now invited to ask questions. The first was in regards to Lila’s lack of a relationship with her father, and how much this influenced her actions. Kazejak explained that it did have an influence, but that it wasn’t everything. Specifically her relationship with Janek was meant to fill the void left by her father, and his betrayal reminds her of her dad’s. The next question discussed the subject of the movie, and why this one was chosen over a perhaps more popular subject. Again Kazejak mentioned that there are many Polish films about popular subject, and that this one was meant to branch out; being less entertaining and more real. It was meant to raise a sort of social discussion. The last several questions referred to the use of non-professional actors. Dwulit here answered that the challenge lay in that the emotions they were looking to capture from the actors could appear spontaneously and from any angle, so they had to plan for an almost 360 degree approach to each scene with regards to lighting etc. Both Kazejak and Dwulit praised the young actors, saying that they learned very quickly, and that they presented both unique challenges, and benefits.

Neil Potter

Sunday afternoon at Camerimage was full of exciting events. One of them was a screening of Stephen Daldry's new film - Trash, shot by Adriano Goldman. It tells a story of three boys who live and work on a Brazilian garbage dump. One day one of them finds a wallet what complicates their lives very quickly.

The film was awarded with a big round of applause and greater part of the public went straight to the Press Center after the screening, where a meeting with the authors took place.

The day before, at the Opening Ceremony, when Stephen Daldry received the Excellence in Directing Award, he emphasized that, as Trash determined it, this prize was not only his, but Goldman's as well. He repeated it at the conference, emphasizing the amazing patience that Goldman had for the youngest actors.

Goldman is a Brazilian cinematographer. He started his career at the age of 17, when, after knocking from doors to doors, he got a job in Fernando Meirelles production company, which later became well known O2 Films. Goldman mentioned Meirelles, as well as Chris Menges and Cesar Charlone when asked about other Brazilian cinematographers who had influenced him the most.

In 2010, when Daldry asked Goldman to make a movie together, Goldman agreed without hesitation. They met in person only three years later in London and shortly afterwards went to Rio de Janeiro to make a movie based on a novel by Andy Mulligan.

Stephen Daldry and Adriano Goldman, fot. Sylwester Rozmiarek

At first they needed to find the actors to play the main characters. Three local boys that they chose, with no film experience, made a giant contribution to the film. As Daldry said: "It was a total chaos. Genius and chaos. He never knew what exactly would happen during the shooting. Several times when they were about to shoot a scene demanding a lot of energy from the kids, it turned out they were sleepy, so they ended up shooting something completely else - a different scene or the same one but fundamentally changed". Moreover, the boys were actually living in the brutal reality of Brazil pictured in the movie, so they were more aware of the subject than the authors themselves. The director said they explained him the story that he was trying to tell. Matters of God, justice, politics have been presented in the film the way the children saw it. Many dialogues were improvised.

At the beginning it was hard for the filmmakers to control the kids. They were undisciplined, found it hard to obey the rules. Nevertheless, as their work progressed, boys started to like the discipline and demanded much more from themselves without anybody's pressure. The crew could observe how poor, badly behaved boys, become self-aware, focused and ambitious actors. Daldry emphasized the boys were not well educated, but they were very smart.

At first the authors planned to make an adventure movie, but finally they have done something greater than that. The idea was to combine three conventions - cinema nouveau, documentary and magical realism what resulted in a great and original film.

When it comes to technical realization, Goldman emphasized that he wanted to do something new, different from his previous films. His first idea was to use muted colors and lower contrast, but then he realized that Brazil is saturated with colors and contrasts: the landscapes full of blue and green on one hand, sweaty and dirty people on the other - and there was no reason to fight with that. He shot the film using Alexa cameras, basing on Daldry’s experience with his previous movie - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

It was the first time Goldman worked with a digital camera and – although he admitted to enjoy it - he does not plan to switch to digital for the rest of his career. He feels nostalgic about the traditional reel cameras.

Still from "Trash"

Goldman said that he admired Daldry a lot. He liked the way he works due to his theatrical background:  he comes to see the scene, the space in which the action is about to take place, then he thinks about choreography and the crew is watching and listening. Even the kids knew then that it was a serious moment - time to learn and work, not to play. Both filmmakers agreed that the most important on a film set is patience, trust and silence.

Asked about the safety during the shooting in favelas, the authors answered that there were places in London where they feel more scared. They didn't have any problems with the residents, in fact they were very well received - filmmakers spend money at the local stores and give jobs to the local people. When they wanted to put a lamp in somebody's window, the person was more than happy to help, feeling awarded that his window is needed. Goldman said that when he was shooting in Brazil 8 years earlier, it was necessary to get a permission to enter the favelas from both the police and local community leader. That time it was much easier and peaceful. Police works hard to catch the criminals who are currently the minority among the residents of the favelas. According to Goldman most of the community members are hard working people, who come across many obstacles.

Goldman said that the hardest thing for him was that he had to reinvent himself during this filmmaking process. He had to look differently at the places he had already seen before and think through the story, let it lead the idea of how should it be captured.

Daldry said that the best thing about working with Goldman was that he always had the camera ready to film, even if it wasn't the actual shooting, what made it very organic. Both artists truly enjoyed their co-operation and seemed happy they could show the results to the Camerimage audience.


Julia Zarębska

Alan Rickman was present to announce the screening of Special Presentation film A Little Chaos for which he collaborated with American cinematographer Ellen Kuras.Rickman made everyone welcome, and adamantly stated that this film, "Isn't a bio-pic. It is historically inaccurate and implausible. This is pure romance." Mr. Rickman was witty and approachable as he has been since the opening of the Festival. The screening of the film commenced, and was followed by a press conference with Alan Rickman, which was by far the highlight of Sunday's events.

Mr. Rickman appeared before a packed Conference Room, and coordinator/translator Zbigniew Banaś wasted no time in beginning the long awaited event. A short recap of Rickman's historic acting career was given to thunderous applause, and was followed by Banaś's first question regarding Rickman's 17 year hiatus from directing; (Rickman debuted as a director with The Winter Guest in 1997.) Rickman responded by saying that directing demands one thing above all else: time. His portrayal of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films demanded too much of his time over the last 10 years. "When I began, it was a three book series, so I didn't know at the time just how long I would be involved in it." (The series consists of 8 feature films.) Rickman also said that the shooting for the films took 7 weeks a year, but that only made directing any films impossible. Questioning was immediately opened to the audience, and Rickman continuously raised laughter with his witty (and at times sarcastic) responses that though jesting in nature, remained sincere. When asked if he would direct more films in the future, Rickman said he hopes so, but that first he wants rest following the gruelling task of directing and starring in A Little Chaos, and also that it would depend on the success of this film.

Alan Rickman, photo by Pawel Skraba

Rickman was asked about his work with lead actress Kate Winslet, and their past collaboration together on Sense and Sensibility (1995.) Rickman was ever praising of Winslet through the conference, calling her a professional, someone who is constantly prepared, and willing to do anything to make her role what it needs to be. He was asked frequently about his past roles. To the question of which was his favorite film he has appeared in he jokingly answered, "Well I don't watch them, so I don't know." When asked if he prefers playing a villianous, or romantic character he answered, "They are all the same to me, each character has elements of romance and villiany in them." Rickman's charming and witty performance in A Little Chaos raised the question of whether he was attempting to further express that side of himself, which perhaps is not what he is known for. He answered that comedy and humor can appear in anything, and that it is relative to people and situations, "If you're a human-being you're potentially hilarious."

With regards to the task of acting and directing, Rickman answered all questions with an unmistakable fervor. He answered that it is the most difficult thing he has done, and the only reason he did so was for budget purposes. When asked if all directors should be actors he gave a resounding "No," describing that actors must instinctive and charge into their roles, whereas the director needs to step back, and be able to visualize things with more reservation, so doing both is inherantly impossible. He was asked about his relationship with cinematographer Ellen Kuras, who regretably couldn't be present. He spoke of their introduction through Kate Winslet, and said Kuras is "The captain of the ship; a leader." And, "I wish she were here." He said that he relied heavily on Kuras, as well as his assistant director and editor, as he was so overwhelmed with the task of acting and directing. He was also asked about his long career in theatre, and how film directing compares to theatre directing. He said that they are more or less the same, but the logistics are different. He said that working in film actually makes working in theatre easier, not the other way around. A last very interesting subject regarded the protrayal of real historical people, as was his role as King Louis XIV. He said that he almost becomes protective of his characters, that he develops an understanding of who they are, and why they have done what they've done. He said that attacking his characters will cause him to "Put boxing gloves on."

Alan Rickman, photo by Sylwester Rozmiarek

The conference ended with a few personal questions about Rickman's start at an actor, and he responded with grace and modesty, saying his career has gone by so fast. His advice to the young aspiring film professionals in the room was to, "Get your eyes up." Meaning to put down electronics and fill yourself with information about culture. "You are your own instrument." Was his message. The conference finished with thunderous applause.

Neil Potter