Last Friday evening, the meeting with Kamil Sipowicz (Kora’s life partner) and Mariusz Grzegorzek initiated a new festival in Lodz - the “PL Music Video Awards”, entirely devoted to music video creators. The capacity audience in the Lodz Film School’s Cinema greeted the guests with applause as they talked nostalgically about the time when they worked with Kora, about the artistic and technological challenges connected with this audiovisual form produced in the past century. The background for the conversation was a screening of selected music videos of the band, nine of which were directed by Mariusz Grzegorzek. There were also anecdotes related to the specificity of work in the 90s. An important element of the discussion was the recalling of the technological conditions in which the music videos were then created. Mariusz Grzegorzek pointed out that often the creators had to cope with technology that was not sufficient for their needs. Equipment and film stock availability was an additional challenge, especially digital cameras, a novelty in those days. The latter were the only ones that would enable work on simple special effects and although they might bring a grin to your face today, but as the guests emphasized, they were once a real "high tech" achievement.

- Mind you, it feels as if it was 400 years ago! The Macintosh computer cost as much as four single-family homes and had capabilities way below any of today’s devices. There were no digital cameras at all. All these videos were shot on 35 mm. Jolanta Dylewska shot them all and Wojciech Żogała was the art director for each of them. We had very little film stock and in order to have all these spinning objects (spoons, nuts) we needed a substitute of today’s digital camera. In those days, a real digital camera would probably have cost as much as a Rolls-Royce. We had a plate on which we placed this object and made stop frame motion pictures, which were later cut out. It was totally ‘cottage-industry’. You can see it, of course, on the screen, but nothing much can be done about it. Then, we were not happy with the effects, either. But generally speaking, we did our best - seeking technological solutions and using them in a more poetic way’, said Mariusz Grzegorzek.
The discussion also concerned the different ways of financing music videos. One of the few patrons of this type of audiovisual form was Telewizja Polska which commissioned the largest number of music videos created at that time. Important figures in TVP itself were Nina Terentiew and Jerzy Kapuściński, whose role, according to the guests, was based on skilful "pairing of musicians and filmmakers".

- It was such a time that everyone in a sense supported each other. These were quite wistful and stale times, when we were just beginning to believe that we were actually heading towards everything that we have now achieved and thanks to that we thrive so wonderfully and are at such a wonderful spiritual stage’, continued Mariusz Grzegorzek.

The meeting also made it possible to get to know the background of Mariusz Grzegorzek's choice for the director of music videos for Maanam. As it turned out years later, it was Kamil Sipowicz who recommended the artist to Jerzy Kapuściński.

- Jurek [Kapuściński] had energy, he had a well-understood initiative of patronage over such things, which in his opinion have some power. He also knew how to pair these entities in a sense. I did know everything about Maanam, but Maanam did not know anything about me. - recalled Grzegorzek.

During the meeting, there were memories of Kora. Guests emphasized that there is no other artist who can be compared to her in both the 90's and today. Kamil Sipowicz pointed out that the singer was inspired by what surrounded her, because the early Maanam’s songs are largely a commentary on the socio-political situation in the country. In the nineties, the topics changed. Kora often talked about love in her songs, mysticism was also present in them. The singer very often outpaced the trends. Even when she dressed in fashionable outfits from the west, which Kamil Sipowicz brought her, she usually added something to them of her own, which met with huge interest. Thus, she became something of a trendsetter in Poland.
Sipowicz admitted that for some time now he has been unable to look at Kora’s photos, listen to her songs or watch music videos. He was moved with emotion when he pointed out that he only today did he understand what one of her songs talks about "They say that love lives in heaven." Mariusz Grzegorzek also talked about his attitude to Kora. He emphasized that, like many men in the 1990s, he had great affection for her, so when he received an offer to make music videos for Maanam he accepted it without hesitation. When casting roles for his feature debut "Rozmowa z człowiekiem w szafy" he even offered her a role in his film. As he emphasized, he acted in the " grand illusion" state and fortunately Kora was able to rationally assess that she was not the right choice.

Eventually, the questions about the artistic evaluation of contemporary music videos followed. Mariusz Grzegorzek admitted that after a period of youthful infatuation with this genre, he does not watch them anymore. On the one hand, it is the result of a different stage of life, completely different needs, different sensitivity. On the other, a lack that he feels when watching modern productions.

- We often deal with impressive music videos, especially western ones. You feel that lots of money has been spent on them but very often they lack an inner nerve. Some energy that would keep it all together. Sometimes I get the impression that it's just a set of some weird catchy pictures. However, there is one video that I like very much. This is the video of The Blaze group, which is called Territory - emphasized Grzegorzek

The meeting was the first opportunity for a conversation between Kamil Sipowicz and Mariusz Grzegorzek in years.
Photos by Adrian Jaszczak