Written & Directed by by Helena Ganjalyan & Bartosz Szpak
Two gay men go through the most important moment in their lives.
Andrzej Piaseczny is one of the most important Polish musicians and singers. His recent coming out as gay was initiated by an excerpt from the lyrics of "Miłość", which is a single from the artist's latest album. This music video gives a voice of support for the LGBT + community in Poland.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH HELENA & BARTOSZ
Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
H: For many years we have been working in various creative fields – I've graduated Academy of Theater Arts in Krakow. I work as an actress, theater and film director, choreographer and photographer, Bartek graduated from the Film School in Łódź – he is an actor, composer and he directs audio productions as well.
B: Our creative paths have come together for exactly this reason - conscious use of our collective skill-set as well as shared cinematic language & taste allowed us to take a unique perspective on our projects.
H: Our film „Me” for the Tyskie brand was awarded the Grand Prix and the 1st Prize in the Branded Stories category in Papaya Young Directors 2020.
Why did you decide to make Miłość?
Andrzej Piaseczny is one of the most important Polish pop musicians and singers, widely popular since the 90's. His recent coming out as gay was initiated by an excerpt from the lyrics of "Miłość", which is a single from the artist's latest album.
It was his and our intention to make this music video a voice of support for the LGBT + community in Poland. Our current political climate makes the conversation about equal rights for any minorities more important than ever.
We also considered this project to be a good opportunity to go outside of our own bubble audience-wise - Andrzej's main fanbase is very different from indie artists we have worked with so far.
When thinking about the message of the song and our music video, the words of Stephen Fry, British actor and activist who is privately homosexual, come to mind: it is all about love. Not about ideology or political deliberations, but about giving and receiving love, sharing it with other people.
We wanted to make a film that would not shock and seek sensation, but rather tell a story that is simple, delicate and ephemeral.
What obstacles did you overcome while in the making of this film?
We wanted to find the perfect actors for this task. Hence the lengthy process of assembling our cast - it required many days of research, conversations, setting deadlines and coordinating the work.
Thanks to Maciek and Bartek (portraying two main characters), we have created a romantic, sensitive atmosphere. The ease with which they interacted allowed, despite the short filming period, to create a subtle on-screen relationship.
The key words we started working with were tenderness, closeness and naturalness. Heroes whom you like and who keep your fingers crossed for their shared happiness. We wanted to find actors who would be credible, personally involved in the case and who, through their presence, would fill the entire story with organic emotions.
Another challenge was the need to find multiple locations in Krakow and stay within the budget. We knew we didn't want to switch to digital - making this music video on tape was one of our main tools for creating the mood of the story.
We also wanted to emphasize naturalness through what surrounds the characters. There is a shot in the clip where the protagonists sit under a plum tree growing at Krakus Mound in Krakow. The branches hanging above them are a symbol of nature that protects and surrounds them, with which they are in harmony.
Any hacks or tips on how to tell stories visually vs with dialog?
H: For me in both you have to know what is the essence of each scene and then create around it. For example I love one scene in „We are who we are” by Luca Guadagnino where two protagonists continue the dialog while camera leaves them and shows us the surrounding. For me it is like the director tries to tell us – this is important, this is how the characters will remember this situation.
B: While looking for the appropriate visual code for strictly visual, no-dialog projects, our main focus is the mood we want to convey & the vibe we want our viewer to get into.
In case of "Miłość" we wanted our concept to be "close to the protagonist" - natural, slightly documentary, highly emotional, full of subtle signals. We consider the 16mm negative to be the perfect tool to achieve this effect.
The home video sequences were shot using an analog Super8 camera. It gave us the opportunity to break the fourth wall, direct contact with the characters, and the characteristic trembling makes the editing more dynamic.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences.
H: We've sent it to several film or music video festivals as well as to some magazines and platforms where the audiences from abroad could find it. It was very important for us to reach to foreign audience as we feel that the story in „Miłość” is very universal.
B: It is different with every project. Some of our music videos had artists with their own PR plans, others were full indie. In terms of commercials there are two separate audiences - people who see the commercial as intended by the client, be it TV or WEB, and people who see it on our professional channnels (IG,Vimeo) as part of our portfolio. Each of those situations requires different tools and actions to be taken.
What are you working on now?
Currently we recieved funding from Polish Film Institute for development of our debut feature film "Jestem Kim Chcesz" produced by Stanisław Dziedzic, Film Produkcja. It is a story of a young girl who dares to take a risky step to fight for her dreams - a story of readiness for change and courage to find one's own way.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
During pandemic we were more into series than films (for example „High maintenance”) but those two are an interesting take: "There must be Heaven" by Elia Suleiman, „About endlessness” by Roy Andersson.