1. My all-time favorite movie: If I were to choose only film, it would be: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Milos Forman for its timeless message, charm, humour, amazing directing and acting.
2. Films that inspired me to become a filmmaker: I was seven when I watched the original version of King Kong by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack from 1933. For many years this movie was my personal definition of cinema, as tale much bigger than life, where fantasy is superior to realism.
3. Best movie I've seen in 2019: This is a movie made in 2010, however I only watched it a couple of weeks ago and it turned to be a powerful experience. The move is called "Incendies", co-written and directed by Denis Villeneuve. It is a story of a journey into the darkness of the past, incredibly well told with an amazing twist at the end.
4. One actress and one actor I would love to work with: Jack Nickolson, Rooney Mara.
5. A director I would love to work with: Milos Forman, Martin Scorsese
6. My happy place is: Home. But also: Prague, Czech Republic.
7. My favorite hobby is: Music, listening to music. Recently: to jazz; Miles Davies has a very privileged position on the playlist.
8. Most people don't know that I: ... am left-handed.
9. The most challenging project I worked on: The latest TV series which was a 125 shooting day experience - with many stunt scenes, enormous time-pressure and capricious weather. An unforgettable and priceless lesson.
10. The project(s) I'm most proud of:
I think it is my second feature film ”Bikini Blue” - a personal vision of the 50s which is a very special era for me - with its beauty, visual taste and style on one hand and the fear of the nuclear apocalypse on the other.
Directing "Bikini Blue"
11. Five collaborators I'd take with me to any project:
- Daniella Gonella - an amazing artist and a beautiful personality - a perfect mozaic of a wonderful producer, a dancer, an actress and a true friend in one. With endless energy, creative, inspirational, loyal and supportive.
- Claudia Bento - a director/writer, AD, production manager and above all - a sensitive, supportive diamond soul with whom you can only win.
- Ian Taylor - a musician, an awesome agent, a PR artist. A true gentleman with a sensitive rock’n’roll spirit. A golden friend.
- Anthony Marais - a great writer, screen-writer and musician. Since long ago, my closest and most precious collaborator. A punk-rocker and a poet, my best friend.
- Janusz Nawojczyk - a director, DOP, a writer. My first teacher of filmmaking. Hewas a really awesome schoolmaster and friend with lots of wit and wisdom. He passed away a couple years ago. I miss him a lot.
12. Five filmmakers who inspire me:
Roy Zafrani - I do not remember when I received so many great vibes and energy from an artist I have never met in my life! Roy is a director, writer and editor of multi-award winning films. With a team of other amazing artist - Nami Melumad, Mor Cohen - he runs golden film festivals in which I was honored to participate and to which I owe the most exciting moments in the recent years. Yes, Roy I would love to meet you, I would love to read your scripts, I would love to work with you!
Martin Scorsese
Milos Forman
Val Lewton
Roger Deakins
13. The one person who has truly believed in me throughout my career:
There have been a couple of them - my family and friends. I admit I am a lucky one in that respect.
14. On set, the most important thing is:
Passion, patience, conviction and consequence. It is very crucial to really know what your story is about and make sure that with your crew you are all making the same film and telling the same story.
15. What keeps me motivated?
Having a fascinating story to tell and gifted people around make any director, any filmmaker unstoppable.
16. A rare experience I had on set/screening:
A few months ago, in the middle of freezing winter we were expecting two horses to shoot a scene with a XIX-th century police patrol. I could not believe my eyes when I saw a couple of… camels instead. It soon turned out to be pure coincidence - our horses arrived and the camels - as incredible as it may sound - belonged to a lady living in the neighbourhood who was walking them like dogs…
17. The moment I realized that filmmaking is my destiny: The mix of dreams and conviction that I can be a filmmaker accompanied me since I was a seven year old boy. Yet, probably the real turning point was back in the „FOSA” film club where I made my first non-professional shorts and won my first awards, including the UNICA Gold Medal for the World’s Best Non-Professional Film in St. Gallen, Switzerland. I was turning twenty and decided to become a film director, or at least not to abandon my dreams without fighting.
18. My next project: I am working on a story based on facts, which is set in the 20s of the previous century and deals with killing and sacrificing for love. It is filled with mystery and passion - this is as much as I can say for the moment.
19. If I wasn't a filmmaker, I'd probably be: Tarzan, or a punk-rocker.
20. My best tip for young composers: Find an amazing story. Inspire your friends and create a team of gifted, passionate people. Do not wait, do it.
Follow Jarek Marszewski:
Bikini Blue on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BIKINI-BLUE-306061716501741/
About:
Jarek Marszewski is a director and screenwriter. His feature films have won over 50 awards at international film festivals. He studied directing at FAMU - the Film Academy in Prague, Czech Republic, then graduated from the Kieslowski Film Department at the Silesian University, Poland.
He also is a graduate of the English Department at the Wroclaw University, Poland. His short films have been awarded multiple prizes at the international festivals, including: “Berliner Tango” - Gold Medal at the World Short Film Festival in Huy, Belgium, 1995; Grand Prix at the Non Commercial Film Festival (Germany, Berlin, 1996), “The Rats” - Grand Prix at the Short Film Festival Brnenska “16” (Brno, Czech Republic, 1993).
His debut feature “Tomorrow Heaven Comes” received the Best First Film Award at the Festroia Film Festival 2002 (Setubal, Portugal), the Best Actor Award at the Gdynia Film Festival 2001 (Poland), the Critics' Award at the Young Film Festival 2001 (Koszalin, Poland).
“Bikini Blue”, his second feature film, has won over 40 awards at festivals worldwide, including Best of Fest at: Los Angeles Film Awards 2017, New York Film Awards 2017, Festigious International Film Festival 2017 (Los Angeles), Beverly Hills Film Festival 2018, London Eye Film Festival 2017 (UK), Fabrique du Cinema Awards 2017 (Rome, Italy), Directors Cut IFF 2017 (Vancouver, Canada) and others.
He also works on tv series (”The Murder Commission”, Poland, 2016) and operas (”Aida”, Italy/Qatar for Al Arabia TV, 2002; “Madame Butterfly” Italy/South Africa for SABC TV, 2000; “The Magic Flute”, Opera Podlaska, Poland, 2014).
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