The visit of our guest, an outstanding graduate of cinematography, began with a screening of the film FALLING DOWN, directed by Joel Schumacher, with cinematography by Andrzej Bartkowiak.

The cinematographer, who was present at the screening, greeted the School community with the words: "I love this School, I love Łódź (…) The whole world loves this School!"

Following the screening, the distinguished cinematographer met with our students who asked about the making of the film, cinematographic choices and his collaboration with the director.

Andrzej Bartkowiak, in turn, spoke about his career choice, inspirations, and dreams: "I've always dreamed of making good films. I like travelling and seeing things because it gives me peace of mind and ideas for my next project."

The cinematographer emphasized how important proper planning and a good script are in the creative process:
"It's important that I see on screen the work that was put into the preparation stage and that the result is not a coincidence. (…) For example, Łukasz Żal's films are wonderfully made. You can see that he worked on them and prepared himself for the job."

"A good script and communication are very important. Every director communicates differently, but you have to know exactly what the director is feeling."

"A script has to have a good story, it has to have something unique. If there's action, it has to have good action; if there's drama, it has to be emotional; if there's comedy, it has to be funny."

The host of the meeting with the cinematographer was Dr. Katarzyna Taras.

Many thanks for the meeting, full of beautiful memories and valuable advice.

1-12 – photos by Anna Zegar
13 – photo from a private archive