Łukasz Maciejewski has already got his students used to meeting exceptional guests. This time, one of the most awarded, respected and uncompromising directors, Agnieszka Holland, was in flooded with questions from third and fourth year students of the Acting Department.

Euphorically received by students, for over two hours she answered questions from young adepts of the art of acting about her directing beginnings, the style of creative work, the way she selects casts for projects, working with actresses and actors before filming and on the set, differences between the education level of the acting community in Poland and abroad, and even working with the young Leonardo DiCaprio on the film "Total Eclipse". The director admitted that she does not pay attention to what school the actors aspiring for roles in her films come from, and even whether they graduated from any acting school. "The actor has the capital of personal experience and this is the base for working on the role", she emphasized. She revealed that when casting her films, she always works with casting directors. “It is important in this context to have a partner you can trust. Especially when the director does not know the multitude of young actors in a given country. Then the role of the casting director is even more important. " She admitted, however, that even in the case of actresses and actors she knows and appreciates, she most often chooses test shots, which are intended to serve as a creative experience and a kind of final verification.

Referring to working on the set, Agnieszka Holland admitted that there is a moment in the creation of a role in which the actor knows much more about the character than the director. “There has to be some synergy for the character and the actor to blend. It's a process like tearing down the curtains one by one”. During the discussion, the topic of cooperation with Leonardo DiCaprio on the film "Total Eclipse" came up. “Leo was a typical American teenager, but the moment he started acting, the spirit of Arthur Rimbaud entered him. He was very skilled. Our cooperation was genuinely close. I was also surprised by his ‘special skills’ that we took advantage of in the film.”

The students also asked the guest with undisguised curiosity about the beginnings of her directing work, her studying days in Prague and the source of strength that makes her able to create unique cinema despite many adversities, political limitations and challenges over the years. “As a child, I was doomed to introversion and loneliness. When I was 15, I liked to tell stories. In film, I could create reality the way I wanted it to look. In Prague, I underwent all possible initiations. I didn't realize for a long time that it is so difficult for women. It was because the dominant oppression was the oppression of power, and therefore my colleagues and I - we all had one enemy. "

At the end, Agnieszka Holland said these words of encouragement to the young acting adepts: “The time of pandemic is a collective generational experience. For some, it's a chance to stop and look at themselves. This experience has to grow into something and it will certainly be enriching.”

Agnieszka Holland is one of the most outstanding directors and screenwriters of world cinema. She has made over 30 films and has won the most important awards for them, incl. Golden Globe ("Europe, Europe") and Silver Bear (for "Spoor"). She has been BAFTA, Emmy, and an American Film Academy Award nominee three times (for "Angry Harvest", "Europe, Europe" and "In Darkness"). She is also the first woman in history to head the European Film Academy.