12.
10.
2023.
Department
Acting
Acting
We are a special year, they say. Their joint work, THE CLOWNS created under the supervision of Gabriela Muskała, has its premiere today. We talk about the film to Magdalena Dwurzyńska and Szymon Kukla
They graduated from acting at the Lodz Film School in 2021. As part of their graduation work they made a diploma film. The director of the film is an excellent actress, playwright, screenwriter and long-time acting lecturer - Gabriela Muskała. The film is being made under the artistic supervision of Mariusz Grzegorzek, the double-term Rector of the School who directed the first diploma film of acting students in the history of artistic education - "The Singing Napkin". In the cast of THE CLOWNS, in main and supporting roles - colleagues from, as they say, an exceptional year.
- We are - and this is not our wishful thinking, as we very often hear from the outside - a unique class - says Magdalena Dwurzyńska, now a graduate of the Acting Department.
– We’ve always stuck together by choice and we do it until now (we still spend holidays together!). I think this is thank to our year supervisor, Bogusław Semotiuk, who from the first year taught us that we should be a team and that we should support each other at all costs. There is no point in looking for enemies or competing. There is strength in unity. Each of us is an individual, but only together we can go really far.
And we can already see this FAR perspective. Their graduation film THE CLOWNS has its international premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival. filmschool.lodz.pl/en/news
- I am very glad that the film was selected for a festival of this importance. It's a great honor that we will be able to show it there, says Szymon Kukla who plays Darek in the film. This is the best possible scenario for completing our studies. We had in mind that it would be a great souvenir for us, a record of the end of our presence at the School. And of course - a huge opportunity - we appear on th big screen in a full-length film that has a chance of being distributed and seen, which is now showing at such a festival!
And THE CLOWNS started quite a few years ago, Szymon tells us
– During the studies we had classes with Gabriela in the 2nd and 3rd year. Between years 3 and 4 we started working on the script. We did exercises and tasks an often improvising and we recorded everything. Later, the director worked on this material - the film's screenplay was based on it. - I remember exactly the moment when Gabriela called me with a casting decision - recalls Magda, the film's Alicja.
- I secretly dreamed of playing her, I felt that this character was closer to me than others. This is how one of my dreams came true - to finish the school with a role that gives me wings.
What was the work on the film set like?
- Playing with people you like, trust, and know means working in comfortable conditions. We are not worried of being judged - after all, we have been through everything together, including ups and downs - recalls the actress. Szymon remembers the Covid complications during production
- We shot this film during the pandemic. Having tests before each shooting day and not knowing whether we will be able to work on the shoot on that day…
The film, and especially the actors, were supervised by Gabriela Muskała, for whom the film was her debut as a director. Gabriela is a wonderful person. She treated us with great tenderness and wrapped us, the actors, in a cocoon of security, says Magdalena.
- Even when the scenes were difficult and demanding, we felt good. First of all, Gabriela is an actress who has a lot of experience. She understood what we were going through, after all, she was in the same place as us once. Szymon adds
- Often you have to build a common front with the director, work out mutual trust – with Gabriela we had it right away, we knew each other perfectly, we were aware of each other's good and bad sides. It was a debut for both us and Gabriela - we were in this together.
THE CLOWNS is a self-referential film. It is a film about film, about acting, and finally - about students of the Acting Department
- The topic of our film seems very hermetic, which, paradoxically, is its strength. The topic of studying at the Acting Department is known only to people from the School. We wanted to bring it closer to those who do not have access to this world. We disclose a certain reality, a true reality, not an invented one - we had functioned in it for several years - says Szymon.
- We want to show that for each of us these studies can be something completely different and at the same time we want to fight stereotypes. One person will spend five years having fun - being on stage, being able to play different roles, he/she won't think long-term. Another person will indulge in work completely and treat this profession very seriously. He/she will use every moment to learn skills, test themselves and get involved. There are different approaches to the profession because people are different. We want to show that this world and this profession are not one-dimensional, said Szymon.
It has been 2 years since they graduated from the School. Do they miss it? How do they remember it?
- I miss it. It was a very intense time, time of both joy and pain, much needed time - says Magdalena.
- I believe that studying at the Acting Department is a crash course in life. It was then when I got to know myself as an actress, a human being, a woman. School puts a mirror in front of you, and this mirror doesn't beautify you - it shows the naked truth - and it's up to you what you do with it. If you don't give up, but on the contrary - you enjoy what you’ve learned, it will enrich both you and the characters you will play later.
THE CLOWNS is a diploma film of acting students – a new type of graduation work which has been operating at the Lodz Film School since 2015. The film directed by Gabriela Muskała is the seventh diploma film produced by the School.
- This is a very necessary type of graduation work - says Szymon.
- I can't imagine not having this possibility. We present diploma plays on stage for a period of one year maximum, and after that time no one will see them. A diploma film offers enormous potential and makes it easier for us at the beginning of our careers. Everyone can see us while sitting in their armchair, anywhere in the world, at any time. This is a great way to graduate from school.
- I can't wait, I feel positive adrenaline. I don't know what it's like to see yourself in one of the main roles on the big screen. I'm not expecting anything - I want to enjoy this moment and see what life will bring - this is how the film Alicja is waiting for the premiere.
The film contributed to the graduation work of the following students of acting: Sebastian Dela, Jan Łuć, Justyna Litwic, Magdalena Dwurzyńska, Szymon Kukla, Jakub Dąbrowski, Karolina Kostoń, Klaudia Janas, Daniel Stanko, Oliwer Witek, Bogumiła Trzeciakowska, Klaudia Koścista, Jakub Sierenberg, Mikołaj Trynda. The film THE CLOWNS has its international premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival. It is in the "1-2 COMPETITION" - a competition for the first and second full-length feature films by their directors.
Dates of the film screening during the WFF:
* 10, October, Tuesday, at 21:30, Multikino 3
* 11, October, Wednesday, at 16:15, Multikino 4
* 12, October, Thursday, at 13:45 Multikino 4
* 13, October, Friday, at 18:45 Multikino 4
More about THE CLOWNS filmschool.lodz.pl/en/news
Interviewer - Jolanta Karpińska / School Promotion Office
photo 1 – still from the film THE CLOWNS,
photo 2 - Magdalena Dwurzyńska
photo 3 - Szymon Kukla
photo 4 – still from the film THE CLOWNS,
THE CLOWNS
SCREENPLAY & DIRECTION Gabriela Muskała
CINEMATOGRAPHY Piotr Żurawski
EDITING Jakub Darewski, Kosma Kowalczyk
PRODUCER Agata Golańska
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Ewa Hoffmann
PRODUCTION MANAGER Aleksandra Dziura
SET DESIGNER Zofia Mazurczak-Prus
COSTUMES Kinga Kubiak
MAKE-UP Matylda Morska
CHOREOGRAPHY Daria Szymańska
COLOUR CORRECTION Piotr Putko
SOUND DIRECTION Michał Kosterkiewicz, Michał Kosterkiewicz Jr MUSIC Zbigniew Zamachowski
ARTISTIC SUPERVISION Mariusz Grzegorzek
PRODUCTION Lodz Film School
CO-PRODUCER EC1 Łódź – the City of Culture in Łódź, Indeks Film Studio
POSTER Kreacja Pro Andrzej Pągowski, Magdalena Błażków
CAST: Sebastian Dela, Jan Łuć, Justyna Litwic, Magdalena Dwurzyńska, Szymon Kukla, Jakub Dąbrowski, Karolina Kostoń, Klaudia Janas, Daniel Stanko, Oliwer Witek, Bogumiła Trzeciakowska, Klaudia Koścista, Jakub Sierenberg, Mikołaj Trynda and Oskar Hamerski as the director GAJDA
SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES of Krystyna Janda, Jan Englert and Robert Więckiewicz
– We’ve always stuck together by choice and we do it until now (we still spend holidays together!). I think this is thank to our year supervisor, Bogusław Semotiuk, who from the first year taught us that we should be a team and that we should support each other at all costs. There is no point in looking for enemies or competing. There is strength in unity. Each of us is an individual, but only together we can go really far.
And we can already see this FAR perspective. Their graduation film THE CLOWNS has its international premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival. filmschool.lodz.pl/en/news
- I am very glad that the film was selected for a festival of this importance. It's a great honor that we will be able to show it there, says Szymon Kukla who plays Darek in the film. This is the best possible scenario for completing our studies. We had in mind that it would be a great souvenir for us, a record of the end of our presence at the School. And of course - a huge opportunity - we appear on th big screen in a full-length film that has a chance of being distributed and seen, which is now showing at such a festival!
And THE CLOWNS started quite a few years ago, Szymon tells us
– During the studies we had classes with Gabriela in the 2nd and 3rd year. Between years 3 and 4 we started working on the script. We did exercises and tasks an often improvising and we recorded everything. Later, the director worked on this material - the film's screenplay was based on it. - I remember exactly the moment when Gabriela called me with a casting decision - recalls Magda, the film's Alicja.
- I secretly dreamed of playing her, I felt that this character was closer to me than others. This is how one of my dreams came true - to finish the school with a role that gives me wings.
What was the work on the film set like?
- Playing with people you like, trust, and know means working in comfortable conditions. We are not worried of being judged - after all, we have been through everything together, including ups and downs - recalls the actress. Szymon remembers the Covid complications during production
- We shot this film during the pandemic. Having tests before each shooting day and not knowing whether we will be able to work on the shoot on that day…
The film, and especially the actors, were supervised by Gabriela Muskała, for whom the film was her debut as a director. Gabriela is a wonderful person. She treated us with great tenderness and wrapped us, the actors, in a cocoon of security, says Magdalena.
- Even when the scenes were difficult and demanding, we felt good. First of all, Gabriela is an actress who has a lot of experience. She understood what we were going through, after all, she was in the same place as us once. Szymon adds
- Often you have to build a common front with the director, work out mutual trust – with Gabriela we had it right away, we knew each other perfectly, we were aware of each other's good and bad sides. It was a debut for both us and Gabriela - we were in this together.
THE CLOWNS is a self-referential film. It is a film about film, about acting, and finally - about students of the Acting Department
- The topic of our film seems very hermetic, which, paradoxically, is its strength. The topic of studying at the Acting Department is known only to people from the School. We wanted to bring it closer to those who do not have access to this world. We disclose a certain reality, a true reality, not an invented one - we had functioned in it for several years - says Szymon.
- We want to show that for each of us these studies can be something completely different and at the same time we want to fight stereotypes. One person will spend five years having fun - being on stage, being able to play different roles, he/she won't think long-term. Another person will indulge in work completely and treat this profession very seriously. He/she will use every moment to learn skills, test themselves and get involved. There are different approaches to the profession because people are different. We want to show that this world and this profession are not one-dimensional, said Szymon.
It has been 2 years since they graduated from the School. Do they miss it? How do they remember it?
- I miss it. It was a very intense time, time of both joy and pain, much needed time - says Magdalena.
- I believe that studying at the Acting Department is a crash course in life. It was then when I got to know myself as an actress, a human being, a woman. School puts a mirror in front of you, and this mirror doesn't beautify you - it shows the naked truth - and it's up to you what you do with it. If you don't give up, but on the contrary - you enjoy what you’ve learned, it will enrich both you and the characters you will play later.
THE CLOWNS is a diploma film of acting students – a new type of graduation work which has been operating at the Lodz Film School since 2015. The film directed by Gabriela Muskała is the seventh diploma film produced by the School.
- This is a very necessary type of graduation work - says Szymon.
- I can't imagine not having this possibility. We present diploma plays on stage for a period of one year maximum, and after that time no one will see them. A diploma film offers enormous potential and makes it easier for us at the beginning of our careers. Everyone can see us while sitting in their armchair, anywhere in the world, at any time. This is a great way to graduate from school.
- I can't wait, I feel positive adrenaline. I don't know what it's like to see yourself in one of the main roles on the big screen. I'm not expecting anything - I want to enjoy this moment and see what life will bring - this is how the film Alicja is waiting for the premiere.
The film contributed to the graduation work of the following students of acting: Sebastian Dela, Jan Łuć, Justyna Litwic, Magdalena Dwurzyńska, Szymon Kukla, Jakub Dąbrowski, Karolina Kostoń, Klaudia Janas, Daniel Stanko, Oliwer Witek, Bogumiła Trzeciakowska, Klaudia Koścista, Jakub Sierenberg, Mikołaj Trynda. The film THE CLOWNS has its international premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival. It is in the "1-2 COMPETITION" - a competition for the first and second full-length feature films by their directors.
Dates of the film screening during the WFF:
* 10, October, Tuesday, at 21:30, Multikino 3
* 11, October, Wednesday, at 16:15, Multikino 4
* 12, October, Thursday, at 13:45 Multikino 4
* 13, October, Friday, at 18:45 Multikino 4
More about THE CLOWNS filmschool.lodz.pl/en/news
Interviewer - Jolanta Karpińska / School Promotion Office
photo 1 – still from the film THE CLOWNS,
photo 2 - Magdalena Dwurzyńska
photo 3 - Szymon Kukla
photo 4 – still from the film THE CLOWNS,
THE CLOWNS
SCREENPLAY & DIRECTION Gabriela Muskała
CINEMATOGRAPHY Piotr Żurawski
EDITING Jakub Darewski, Kosma Kowalczyk
PRODUCER Agata Golańska
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Ewa Hoffmann
PRODUCTION MANAGER Aleksandra Dziura
SET DESIGNER Zofia Mazurczak-Prus
COSTUMES Kinga Kubiak
MAKE-UP Matylda Morska
CHOREOGRAPHY Daria Szymańska
COLOUR CORRECTION Piotr Putko
SOUND DIRECTION Michał Kosterkiewicz, Michał Kosterkiewicz Jr MUSIC Zbigniew Zamachowski
ARTISTIC SUPERVISION Mariusz Grzegorzek
PRODUCTION Lodz Film School
CO-PRODUCER EC1 Łódź – the City of Culture in Łódź, Indeks Film Studio
POSTER Kreacja Pro Andrzej Pągowski, Magdalena Błażków
CAST: Sebastian Dela, Jan Łuć, Justyna Litwic, Magdalena Dwurzyńska, Szymon Kukla, Jakub Dąbrowski, Karolina Kostoń, Klaudia Janas, Daniel Stanko, Oliwer Witek, Bogumiła Trzeciakowska, Klaudia Koścista, Jakub Sierenberg, Mikołaj Trynda and Oskar Hamerski as the director GAJDA
SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES of Krystyna Janda, Jan Englert and Robert Więckiewicz