STP2017 / Flavia Dima - A deep dive into the sea of teenage emotion
Coming to Sarajevo Film Festival’s Short Film Competition after picking up the Special Jury Mention for Best Short Film in the Generation 14Plus section in Berlin earlier this year, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s INTO THE BLUE / U PLAVETNILO (2017) takes viewers into the mind of a troubled teen struggling to enjoy a summer day’s swim with her friends, as everything around her (including her own identity) is in the midst of a huge shift. As the relationships around her are changing, so is her own position – be it of her own will or not.
The short follows the story of Julija, a teen girl visiting her small, seaside hometown for her summer holidays after having moved to the city with her freshly-divorced mother sometime during the past year. From the get-go, she is set up as a “troublemaker” – during a boat ride, her mother mentions a previous attempt at running away from home, and Julija’s response is to promptly dive into the waters below, shutting off any contact to the world above. The only thing that seems to make her happy is her reunion with her best friend Ana, but the protagonist’s affection is hinted to be a little bit more than just platonic love. When young hottie Pjotr enters the scene as Ana’s possible love interest, Julija’s nerves and desire for attention flare up and get the better of her, as an innocent afternoon at the seaside turns into an unpredictable (and dangerous) contest for affection.
Some aspects of the story seem to be intentionally ambiguous due to the sparse details that come across in the characters’ dialogues – such as the degree to which Julija’s feelings for Ana have an erotic drive, or the extent to which her father was abusive towards his family. But actress Gracija Filipović’s rich performance as the film’s protagonist conveys a very broad range of emotions, such as sensitivity, angst, arrogance, and boredom. Although the causes of these feelings may be unknown to the public, Filipović’s delivery makes them so clear that they can almost be felt. The mind of a teenager may be hard to understand (especially for themselves), but here we get a glimpse into the heart of a girl who is deeply and powerfully longing for affection – and every single time we see her mis-managing her emotions, we get to piece together another bit from a heart that has been broken by parental abuse, social taboos, and egoism.
Being shot by the seaside, INTO THE BLUE makes full use of water as both a visual metaphor and literary device. Aided by the superb cinematography of Marko Brdar, known for THE HIGH SUN / ZVIZDAN (2015), whose command of the camera makes it seem as if, at times, we are glancing at the film through the eyes of its shy protagonists. The final confrontation between Julija and Pjotr shows them dangerously throwing themselves off a steep cliff into the waters below. Recurrent images of Julija underwater convey the sense of her innate escapism, of the way she just shuts other people off when they do not do as she pleases – a facet of her personality which Ana painfully points out at one moment. One must also see water as a symbol for fluidity and sexuality, as the teens’ identities seem to have yet become fully developed, especially when it comes to more intimate issues. Every time Julija dives into the waters, the image of her body floating by itself in a seemingly endless ocean may be in fact a glimpse of her profound sense of loneliness and pain. Alternatively, it may also be seen as a place of safety and retreat – as her sense of rejection increases and her attempts to reconcile do not come across well, the girl dives deeper and deeper into the wombs of the waters, but ultimately ends up hurting herself and those around her – a cautionary tale for all those who prefer to shut off the outside world.
INTO THE BLUE / U PLAVETNILO (2017), the latest work of Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, a Croatian director who started her film career 11 years ago at Talents Sarajevo, had the honor to be the first film in this year's Competition Programme - Short Film section at the Sarajevo Film Festival. The film had already won Special Jury Mention for Best Short Film in the Generation 14Plus section at Berlinale, Prize of the Youth Jury at the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, and it was shortlisted by the American Film Academy for the 2017 Student Oscars just a few days ago.
Inspired by her childhood memories from the small Croatian island Kalamota (Koločep), Kusijanović juxtaposes adolescence with nature. INTO THE BLUE tells us a story of 13-year-old Julija who returns to this very island. In the opening scene the boat is getting to the coast of Kalamota, and we are listening to Julija's mother explaining that the two of them are trying to flee from an abusive household. As Julia gets annoyed by her mother's talk, she moves to the edge of the boat and dives into the sea.
The “dive-in” is a repetitive gesture in contemporary youth films from the country, thus can be seen also as an escapism moment and a signature move of the “Croatian everyday-life film movement” (“filmski val hrvatske svakodnevice”) that emerged several years ago. The movement is being characterized by stories that are relevant to the social and political situation in Croatia, mostly showing us the lives of women with emotional trauma, chased by their past, lost in present time, always portrayed a bit on the edge of reality. The “dive-in” motif, when protagonists are trying to get away from their problems by taking a leap into deep water, was best represented in films like Ivona Juka’s YOU CARRY ME / TI MENE NOSIŠ (2015), Hana Jušić’s QUIT STARING AT MY PLATE / NE GLEDAJ MI U PIJAT (2016), and the TV series directed by Dalibor Matanić THE PAPER / NOVINE (2016).
As we follow Julia's struggle to fit into her childhood setting, the tension rises, so we get to the climax and also the logical upshot of the “dive-in” trope: the drowning, albeit metaphorically depicted. Young director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović succeeds in relaying the full spectre of this “everyday life movement” story in a short-film format and brings something important as a new insight for the whole movement.
In the last several months, Polish cinema has been making waves again: THE LAST FAMILY / OSTATNIA RODZINA (2016) has been conquering world festivals since Locarno, THE LURE / CÓRKI DANCINGU (2015) is being shown in US theatres right now, Agnieszka Holland won big at Berlinale, and Kuba Czekaj's second feature THE ERLPRINCE / KRÓLEWICZ OLCH (2016) scrored two very important festivals – Slamdance and Berlinale Generation 14plus. Fortunately, our new contributor Rohan Berry Crickmar had the opportunity to interview Kuba Czekaj in Berlin, so now you can read all about the independent filmmaking community in Poland, and risks.
The young Polish filmmaker Kuba Czekaj is a very busy man. In the space of eighteen months he has completed and promoted his first two feature films, BABY BUMP (2015) and THE ERLPRINCE / KRÓLEWICZ OLCH (2016). The latter has received its European Premiere in the Generation 14plus Competition here at the 67th Berlinale, after having won the Young Jury Award for Best Film at Gdynia Film Festival in 2016.
Czekaj is very much at the vanguard of an emerging generation of exciting young Polish film talent, alongside the likes of Agnieszka Smoczyńska, Tomasz Wasilewski, Katarzyna Rosłaniec, Bodo Kox, and Krzysztof Skonieczny. Born in Wrocław in 1984, Czekaj studied Directing at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Radio and Television Faculty at the University of Silesia in Katowice, graduating in 2010. After this initial training, he then attended the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing in Warsaw during 2011. He initially produced a series of award-winning short films between 2009 and 2014, including the highly original DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK ROOM / CIEMNEGO POKOJU NIE TRZEBA SIĘ BAĆ (2009). BABY BUMP, his first feature film, premiered at the 72nd Venice Film Festival in 2015, winning a Special Mention in the Queer Lion Award category.
Having been impressed by the hyper-excessive inventiveness of BABY BUMP when I saw it at the 2015 Gdynia Film Festival, I was keen to see what aesthetic developments, if any, Czekaj had made during the shoot of THE ERLPRINCE. Little did I know just how difficult it would be to assess this director’s progress between first and second feature. This was nothing to do with the quality of THE ERLPRINCE, as I think it is a bold film that builds upon and expands the scope and ambition of BABY BUMP. Rather, it was difficult to talk of progress due to the surprising revelation of how both films were produced.
On meeting Czekaj in Berlin after the premiere of THE ERLPRINCE, I was immediately struck by the seeming contradiction between his physical timidity, as if his wiry frame was desperately trying to discreetly disappear from view, and the genuine warmth and openness of his character. The resulting interview is peppered with candid details about the production histories of his self-described “informal diptych,” as well as some clear insights as to his working methods and the importance he places upon collaboration. Although, some areas of the interview have been slightly amended to facilitate clarity and comprehension, I have tried to preserve, as much as possible, the idiosyncrasies of this director’s English, as I believe it best captures his engaging and self-reflexive personality.
Rohan Berry Crickmar: Before this interview, your publicist was telling me that you effectively produced BABY BUMP and THE ERLPRINCE simultaneously?
Kuba Czekaj: Yeah, mostly at the same time, because, you know, we started shooting at the beginning of, I think, 2015, this was the first part of the shooting. Then I had a break, after which I started shooting BABY BUMP, and after that I immediately came back to the set of THE ERLPRINCE. Then, in September 2015, there was a premiere at the Venice Film Festival. So it was a crazy year for me, but also a wonderful and very unique lesson, especially for someone, you know, who is a first-time director. So, yeah, I think it was a very important time for me.
RBC: Before you did these two features, you had a quite considerable body of work in terms of short films?
KC: Yeah, I made several in my school, and you have some opportunities after you finish your education. There was a program for young filmmakers to make a professional audition film. Normally, something like thirty minutes. My film was called DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK ROOM. It was just after my education that I made this film, and after this film the same studio offered me the chance to do THE ERLPRINCE. But, of course, as you probably know, because everybody knows, it is very difficult to get the financing and to have the money for these sort of films [laughs].
RBC: Indeed! Am I right in thinking that Venice helped to develop the project?
KC: Yeah, Venice has some program, It is called Biennale College Cinema. This is a program for first or second-time filmmakers. They help, supporting productions, because they give you money with just one rule that you can only spend 150,000 EUR, no more. It is a kind of competition. At first, twelve production teams are invited. You just apply with a treatment and some additional materials, and then they choose the twelve teams, and you have some workshops. This helps you in talking about and pitching your film.
After all the workshops, you return back home and write up the first draft of the script, send it, and then they make the decision based on: your stay in Venice, the pitch, the quality of the script, and, I think, trust. After all, they don’t know the people who are applying, so it is a kind of risk for them to just give anyone the money. After receiving the money, you have only one year – for us it was nine months – to make the film and be ready for the following year’s Venice festival, where the film will receive its premiere.
So after all, when I had the decision that BABY BUMP would be financed, I also had the decision that THE ERLPRINCE would begin shooting. This led to a very difficult decision as to whether I could do both films. I had a lot of feedback telling me “This is too much, you should just concentrate on one film.” But I just said “Come on guys, I have to film these, as it will be my most important lesson, and I will have a film in Venice, so I need to test myself, I need to take this risk and fight for my dreams!”
RBC: So, with BABY BUMP that was partly funded by the Venice Film Festival?
KC: Yeah.
RBC: With THE ERLPRINCE, funding was coming from?
KC: From Poland. It is a public fund. The most amount of money came from the Polish Film Institute. There was also investment from the Polish public television, as well as one of the regional funds in Poland, the Wrocław Film Commission.
RBC: And that is where you are from?
KC: Yes, this is my hometown. And we had involvement from a post-production company, as part of this funding arrangement, which meant that we had to use their services to complete the film.
RBC: So the post-production is locked in to the funding arrangements?
KC: Yeah, yeah.
RBC: Now you retained a few people over both films, mainly amongst the actors, first and foremost, and then also within two areas of the technical crew that I am particularly interested in. In terms of the actors Agnieszka Podsiadlik and Sebastian Lach seem to reprise quite similar roles. Was that a deliberate choice on your part? Was it a very obvious thing to go “Right, once we cast in this film we just continue on to the next film”? What was your rationale behind this?
KC: You know, Agnieszka and Sebastian were on this film [THE ERLPRINCE] from the beginning. At this stage I could not have imagined we would have had the chance to do something else. I really believe that you should be making films with your family, and this family is made up of your cast and crew. You need to work with people you trust, people who trust you too. To say it simply, we are really just very close friends. It is really important that you have this kind of relationship, as when you are on set, you really don’t have any time. You have so much to do, and you are really fighting with your schedule.
So beforehand I had a lot of meetings and conversations with actors, but also with the likes of Adam Palenta (he is the DoP of the films), or the costume designer. So after all of this preparation, we felt ready to do these two films in a very short time. As I said at the beginning, I could not plan that we would be doing two films, but I felt “Come on, I have wonderful people right in front of me, so I need to invite them on to the next project!” For me this was so natural. I think this is a good way of filmmaking.
RBC: What was it that drew you to Agnieszka? She has such strong and interesting roles in both films, so what was it that drew you to her when you were casting? Prior to your films, I had only really seen her in quite minor roles in things like ZERO (2009) and BABY BLUES / BEJBI BLUES (2012), but I hadn’t actually seen her in a significant major role?
KC: It is kind of funny, or strange, because we met a few years ago, when I was the second director on, maybe you know this film, IT LOOKS PRETTY FROM A DISTANCE / Z DALEKA WIDOK JEST PIEKNY (2011). It is a film by Wilhelm Sasnal [co-directed with his wife Anka], a very famous Polish painter. She [Agnieszka Podsiadlik] was playing one of the roles and I was just the First AD. After the shoot, we met in some bar, or restaurant, and just started talking. Also, then I met Sebastian, and even then I had a script of this film [THE ERLPRINCE]. So after talking with them, we just kept in touch, month to month, and remained friends. I am talking about this, because this was the casting.
I realized at a certain moment that I had wonderful people right there in front of me. Of course, I knew both of them as actors, but for me it felt more crucial to know what kind of people they are. It was easy for me to ask them to join me [on the project], as I loved them and believed in them. I could trust them, because we shared similar tastes, we liked the same films. Of course, sometimes we were fighting, but it is like I would do with a friend. A friendship should be sometimes heated. It is really nice in this way, because the relationship is really honest. Sometimes we have a difference of opinion, but that is the relationship, the way it is.
RBC: It is interesting that you say this, because I think that is something that you are getting in the dynamic between son and mother in both of the films. There is a dynamic there that is really warm and tender, on the one hand, but very quickly and very easily flies into a moment of, as you say, heat, or anger that flickers up, and then gets suppressed.
KC: Yeah, for me it is very important for the actors to feel like partners. Also this extends to my kids, and by that I mean the kids who are playing in the films. After two films, I am sure that there isn’t any difference, as a director, for me to direct them. It is always the same, we are talking about trust and spending a good time, being close and having fun sometimes. Obviously, there is the need to fight if the situation requires it, but the actors being my partners is crucial.
RBC: I think a lot of the best filmmakers, the kind who have a real identity early on, establish a core group of people that they work with.
KC: Yes, this is your community.
RBC: Exactly! I am seeing this often in the current Polish situation, and correct me if I am wrong here, but I think this is a very good time to be a Polish filmmaker, because there seems to be a lot of these little communities popping up around young filmmakers.
KC: I think we have a lot of good signs that it is better than the past. Of course, I think there is still a lot to do in terms of film opportunities, but you have the likes of Agnieszka Smoczyńska, whose last film [THE LURE / CÓRKI DANCINGU (2015) ] just had a big opening in the US, which has already enabled her to start work on a new film. There is also THE LAST FAMILY / OSTATNIA RODZINA (2016), so this is wonderful. There has also been a great change as there are now a lot of new faces in the film industry in Poland – and really young. You know, in the past a first-time director would have been something around forty-six or fifty. Now it is more like thirty-something, so it is wonderful, but I am really waiting for someone to come along who is twenty-one, as cinema needs young energy. Film needs to sometimes be told “Fuck you!” So I am really waiting for someone to do that.
RBC: I would agree with that, definitely. You talked about Adam Palenta. You have worked with him a long time. I just would like you to give me some insight into the importance of this working relationship to you, and how it has helped you to shape what, I think, is a very unique visual style, and, perhaps, how this relationship has developed over time?
KC: It is a very simple answer. He is like my brother. We met at film school. I was in the first year, and Adam was already in his final year, in the Cinematography department. He taught me a lot of things. I remember when we first began to collaborate together on my first filmmaking exercise, it was done using film stock, and I was so nervous because I knew we only had one reel. So I was not thinking what we were shooting, I was thinking about how much film we had left. He got me to concentrate on each shot. This is a very simple example of how he helped me along this wonderful journey of making films. And now we don’t really talk too much about what we are trying to do.
It is very similar to my relationship with Agnieszka and Sebastian, and the rest of the crew. We have the same taste. For example, if we are talking about how BABY BUMP was shot, we both really liked the idea of simple cinematography. We do not use sophisticated tools. Yes, we are toying with various things, but the shots remain very simple. Mostly, the characters are in the centre [of the shot], and we mainly work in close-up. Of course, we used close-up to build this very intensive atmosphere, especially in THE ERLPRINCE.
RBC: It is all very insular?
KC: Yeah, yeah, we like this way in which actor’s look into the camera. Of course, it is not an instruction for the rest of our films, but in this case we thought it was necessary to help describe these two different universes. Also, when we knew that we would be making two films at the same time, it was crucial to think of two ways of storytelling. I am thinking here of the form, both of the picture and the sound. This became crucial, because if you are making two films about one theme, there needs to be formal difference. BABY BUMP is more about sexual transformation and body transformation, it is more like a body horror. However, in THE ERLPRINCE we are talking about mind and soul, and all of these naive moments you have when you are around fifteen.
RBC: I thought about the films as being one about prepubescence and one about puberty. So one of the films was about that transformation of a child into this awkward, in-between stage, where they are neither child, nor adult. Whilst the other film was mapping out that departure from the uncertainty of puberty into adulthood. I really liked this thematic continuity between the two films, and it was interesting for me to find out you were working on both films at the same time. You also worked with the same sound designer and sound recorder, Radosław Ochnio and Filip Krzemień. The sound design in your films is a real marker of your identity as a filmmaker. I think it is something very different to any other filmmaker I have seen in recent years. So first of all, I was going to ask whether you have a musical background yourself?
KC: No.
RBC: That’s interesting, as you seem to display a very good ear for how elements of your film can be made to operate like music, I am talking about the way you layer dialogue and sound effects here.
KC: It is always about intuition and working well with the people I invite onto the film. When this comes to sound, that relationship is extremely important. Picture and sound have equal importance in my work. I really believe that you build a film so that it breaks through the screen. I want the audience to feel something under their skin. This is much more important than any A+B=C thinking, because in my opinion this is how we build our memories. If we are talking about our childhood, we easily remember sounds and smells, and these recollections may make us laugh or cry, or everything. These stories are so simple. In THE ERLPRINCE and BABY BUMP the form and the connections between sound and image are much more, I would say maybe not difficult, but it is a…
RBC: Unconventional?
KC: Yes. Also, Radek and I met some years ago, when I made one of my shorts. We share a similar sense of humour, and obviously he knows the importance of sound. As I was trying to say before, sound is almost like another character within the films. If we have done it right, then you feel the film through your whole body, and it brings out the emotions.
RBC: It was really interesting what you were doing in both your films with sound and image, which is that you are using them, not necessarily in an interconnected way…
KC: Contrast is… Contrast, I love it.
RBC: This is an amazing element of your films, as you have these two things, sound and image, that are operating in tandem, yet somehow they aren’t married together.
KC: Yes, the first impression could be that it is not combined, but in the overall context of the film, and its characters, its emotions, it works. It is correct. It is right.
RBC: Yes, it gets right under the skin.
KC: Well it is also about talking about risk. I am a guy who loves to take risks. I love risk in films.
RBC: Well you are taking healthy risks, I think.
KC: [laughing] I am aware of it.
RBC: I like it, I like what you are doing here. Right, I am going to go out on a limb here, as this is something that I have an obsession with, and I think you are a very clear example of this, along with a few other people that you may not like being associated with (such as Lee Daniels, The Wachowskis), but nonetheless I think you are a clear example. I find the excess in your work really fascinating, and I would also describe your cinema – using a label I have coined – as a “promiscuous cinema.” It is a cinema that marries together all elements of culture, without giving any single element a greater degree of importance, or a preferred cultural significance. Schubert and Shostakovich rub shoulders with Mano Music on the film’s soundtrack, with seemingly no distinction, no cultural bias. You have English, German, and Polish being used freely and interchangeably, without any immediate sense of their usage being attached to separate ideas of national culture. The scatological goes hand in hand with the scientific and philosophical, with little sense of these things being culturally detached. It is as if all elements of culture are acceptable and you are free to choose from any of them. Does this echo with your conscious approach to the film, or am I reading into it what I want to read into it?
KC: Yeah, well my answer is so simple. Making films, sharing films with others, is an invitation to a different island, or a new planet. In my job, I would say, I am always trying to create a new universe – something that is unique for me, and it would be great if someone else tells me it is unique. Basically, I am trying to create something new, a new place, a new island. I have my toys, so to say, and from them I build a new house. BABY BUMP is a good example, because in BABY BUMP, if you are making this kind of film you need to make some kind of instruction. So the first twenty minutes of the film is building the language of the film.
Now, of course, I know that after twenty minutes some people just go out from the film, saying “I don’t understand, it’s not for me.” But the people who stay, clearly say OK, and stay till the end. In this case, it is very important to teach the audience the flora and fauna of the film. I am always trying to build something like that, as I really adore the audience. Come on, I don’t do this only for myself or my friends, I would like to share these films, and I am really wanting to open up discussion. If someone doesn’t like these films, then I hope they would tell me. I also have some observations that even when people don’t like, for example BABY BUMP, even when they don’t like it they still have a lot of emotion about it. This is a success for me, because even when someone hates my film, I still have a feeling, I can see in their face, that the film has had an effect, that something is going on. This is cinema. I don’t want my films to be OK. I don’t want the last two years to have been OK. I hate OK. I don’t want to be OK.
RBC: That is how I have always thought about the role of a film critic, and I know that often critics are seen as very negative individuals. But the role of a film critic surely is one defined by things loved and things hated. Those are both good, valid responses to a film. The worst kind of scenario is to see something that is unaffecting and bland, and feel no strong emotion one way or another towards it.
KC: A lot of films, so many films, are produced, and we don’t care about them, we forget about them by the end credits. Or we just can’t remember what they are about even twenty minutes afterwards. You don’t remember one shot or one scene.
RBC: When talking about your two feature films I would say that you are a real poet of this tumult in the development of a teenager. You effectively capture the craziness of that particular period. Why do you find this age so rewarding, rewarding enough to visit not once, but twice?
KC: I think I will start from the end here. Now I feel like I am closing these kinds of story. I am finished with stories about childhood. In some ways I am maturing like my characters, especially in THE ERLPRINCE. This isn’t about me exactly, but about my filmmaking. If the film is about fighting for your independence, as a filmmaker I have been doing the same in making the film.
By finishing the film I am saying “Look guys, I am ready, please listen to me, give me a chance, give me the money, of course, because I have a good story, I am well prepared to make it, you can trust me!” But, of course, it was not so simple. I was full of naivety. I remember this very important moment when we received a large amount of money from the Polish Film Institute. Now this was a lot of money, but it was not enough to begin the shoot. I remember crying when I heard we had got that money, as I thought tomorrow we will start making the film. However, my producer called me and told me “No, Kuba, this is just a little part of the cake, we still need to find more and that will not be straightforward.” For me this was so painful, really.
I am telling you this, because now I am working with a different set of characters. My next project will be about older characters, although they might not necessarily have a different point of view. I truly believe, and it is maybe nothing new to say this, that we all have a little child inside of us, and so we should have. When I think about my job, where I need to be really open, listen, and smell, and feel many different things, then that is really the best way. Growing up for me is about an increasing awareness of shame: shame about your feelings, about your body, shame about what we really are. Growing up is about becoming ashamed.
RBC: That came across very strongly in BABY BUMP. With this next production you have mentioned is it likely to be Polish based, or will it be another co-production?
KC: It should be a co-production, because this next project will largely take place between Poland and one of the Asian cities.
If you are a film industry professional, you can watch THE ERLPRINCE on Festival Scope
