We meet on the occasion of your diploma film THE DEVIL, which is currently circulating at European festivals. The sentence from the description of the film is rather intriguing: "The crisis strengthened the need for spirituality in society, which allowed things to happen that most probably wouldn’t have occurred in other times...". Tell us how the idea for the film came about.

Jan: I often answer this question and always say something different, so I need to finally settle on one version. This is due to the fact that many elements contributed to the creation of the screenplay. First of all, I read a lot of non-fiction literature about the transition period. There were many stories about how people tried to cope in those times. I also had an idea earlier to show a character who uses the notion of the devil to achieve his goal. I connected these two and managed to produce one piece.

You mentioned non-fiction literature, so I would like to ask you, as a graduate of film directing and an artist striving for creative self-awareness whether you prefer fiction film or documentary?

Jan: When I got into the School, I was convinced that I’d be making documentaries and I’d chosen the right path. However, during those few years at the School, I kept turning towards fiction film and finally I don't know if such a classic documentary still interests me. While making documentaries, I had many moral doubts, I felt awkward towards my characters, I saw the inequality of this arrangement. I tried various dodges, I looked for alternative formal solutions, but I'm not sure if it finally worked out. Although today I am aware that documentaries can be made in a better way, fiction films, however, can also have documentary potential and can be made in a documentary kind of way. As a  live action film director you are less responsible for the hero which gives you more freedom. To be honest, I like the combination of fiction film and documentary. I like watching films that are difficult to classify formally where the film narrative mixes both genres in such a way that it becomes non-obvious to tell what they are. My film THE DEVIL is strictly a live action film and after years spent at the School, I am closer to this genre.

You’re straight back from France where you received the Special Jury Prize in Poitiers (filmschool.lodz.pl/en/news) THE DEVIL has already been shown in Poland (at the Warsaw Film Festival, Polish Film Festival in Gdynia) and abroad (in Spain, Latvia, Italy, and even in Hong Kong). Are there universal aspects of this story that make it appealing to a global audience?

Jan: I watch various films at festivals and I’ve noticed that what is universal does not always arouse interest. An audience from France, Italy or Spain wants to see a locality that is foreign to them. Of course, in this locality they look for some universal references that appeal to everyone. I notice, however, that stories with a strong local flavour, for example, rooted in Polish reality, tend to be interesting. I also saw a film about Kosovo, which takes the viewer to a completely different world. Of course, there is a universal issue about growing up in it, but the local realities of Kosovo are the background of the story. It seems to me that my film about the hero's transformation and understanding his place in the world is somehow universal. And the audience likes the firm setting of this story in the Polish context, the period of transformation and the film’s visual aesthetics. In fact, the universality of a story with locality superimposed on it is the key I see repeated in the films.

At the moment, we can only lift the veil of secrecy that THE DEVIL will soon appear again at a very important short film festival. You are currently travelling between festivals and Łódź, where you continue your studies at the Doctoral School at the Lodz Film School. Tell us about your plans for the near future.

Jan: I would definitely like to make a few more short films. Frankly speaking, I am not ready to make a feature film yet, although of course, I am working on a screenplay for a longer film, which is slowly maturing. At the moment, as part of my doctoral studies, I plan to make a few short films, because they have a chance to be created with less pressure on the effect than it was in the didactic process during my regular course of studies. I have a chance to find my own style and try out various formal solutions that I haven't had time to test out before. Now I have time for that.

In this context – of your searches for the form – will we see feature films or documentaries?

Jan: There will definitely be fiction films. I would also like to try working with amateurs to give the film a documentary dimension. I think something will appear next year.

Thank you for the interview and good luck with your plans.

Interviewer: Małgorzata Lisiecka-Muniak from the Lodz Film School Promotion Office.

Photo: from Warsaw Film Festival press materials