All viewers were welcomed by the film’s author and the Mayor of Legnica, Tadeusz Krzakowski. – “Little Moscow” was very well received; it was screened in 25 countries on 5 continents. I am very curious to see how “The Photographer” will be received – says Waldemar Krzystek. – In this film, too, Legnica is present at every step: Legnica, Legnica, Legnica. Colleagues from abroad ask where it is and why. They look for answers on Google. This is my city. My Legnica. It is a part of my life from a time when the city had no sovereignty.
The author after the premiere: – Today I no longer watch the screen. I listen to the audience, to see whether they are clearing their throats, talking, or remaining focused. I observe their faces from hiding. This is the first confrontation. Today the reaction was very good. We had three screenings. A great reception. I am satisfied, especially with the screening in the courtyard of the Academy of Knights. Under the open sky, on rather uncomfortable chairs. Perhaps a thousand people. And silence as if the audience were spellbound.
Modern-day Moscow. An elusive serial killer is roaming the city, leaving behind the bodies of his victims cards bearing numbers used by investigative teams at crime scenes. The clues lead to the former Soviet Army garrison in Legnica, to seven-year-old Kola living there, and to a series of dramatic events that took place in the 1970s.
A Russian investigative team sets out for Legnica. It includes Natasha, a militia officer who spoke with the mysterious murderer and the only person to survive an encounter with him. Only Natasha can identify the Photographer if a confrontation takes place. The young Russian woman’s journey is not merely a mission, but also a psychological, multidimensional journey into the past. In Legnica, the madness of the mind confronts the horror of history.
– The way we preserve the image of Legnica behind the Iron Curtain today will remain as a kind of model in the memory of viewers and residents – says Waldemar Krzystek. – I revive, assess and diagnose that world through my personal knowledge and experience. Because that Legnica no longer exists. The city has changed its image enormously. It has modernized and become more beautiful. Soon it will no longer be able to serve as a living backdrop for films about times of contempt, which the residents of Legnica, incidentally, coped with very well. I show the roots of evil in the first post-war half-century. In this film, specifically the 1970s. The roots have not changed. Lubyanka is still Lubyanka. The fruits of evil are still being produced today.
The question of truth keeps recurring in “The Photographer.” Everyone asks about the truth, even the delirious driver destroyed by the system. Yet no one finds an unambiguous answer. Should the truth be revealed when it is terrible and brutal for the characters? Kola never speaks in his own voice. He imitates the voices of other people. He assumes their personalities and the darkness of their souls, like a guilty conscience. – Do we always speak in our own voices, or do we hide behind masks? – the director wonders. – A high price is paid for telling the truth and expressing one’s opinions. Today we speak in half-truths and quarter-truths. We do not use our own voices. The film’s main character, Natasha, scarred by life, knows this perfectly well.
– I saw the public suicide of a Soviet soldier with my own eyes, at the corner of Bielańska Street in Legnica – the director continues. – I was nine or ten years old. He did it in front of many people. He asked them to remember him. He did not want to be merely a number in a register, a cog in an inhuman system. I think he wanted at least his death to be remembered. It was profound sadness, profound despair. As a child, I did not yet understand the political roots of that helplessness and desperation. Our film also speaks about that kind of truth and about arriving at it. About debunking history. We did not want to make the thousand-and-first crime film. We wanted to ask questions to which viewers could find their own answers. Dark questions. We take two hours of our viewers’ lives. I worked on the film for three years.
We ask about cooperation with the city during production. – Cooperation with the city was exemplary – the author replies. – Other producers and directors may envy me. A good basis for cooperation was already established during “Little Moscow.” Then and now, we were good partners. I received enormous material support at every step, as well as significant financial support. The Mayor himself pointed out excellent locations worth showing. Many people are now suggesting that I make a film with another city in the leading role. But there is only one Legnica. It is unique. Others envy it.
– There were no doubts about our participation in the production – Mayor Tadeusz Krzakowski emphasizes. – Our previous cooperation and the results of “Little Moscow,” among other things, were recommendation enough. It is also encouraging to see our residents’ attitude: they take great interest in films being made in the city and are happy to work as extras. They are understanding when, for example, filmmakers want to close a road to traffic. I am pleased that Legnica was once again a major film location. That it played the leading role. By appearing on the big screens across the country and in many other places, the city is achieving promotional success.
– It is difficult to compare “Little Moscow” and “The Photographer” – Tadeusz Krzakowski adds. – They are very different films, including in genre. But both could have succeeded only in Legnica. They are simply authentic. I trust that “The Photographer” will have a journey as successful as “Little Moscow.”
The film received a nomination for the Main Competition of the 39th Gdynia Film Festival. The selection committee chose 13 films from among 31 submissions to compete for the main prize, the 2014 Golden Lions. This year’s festival begins on September 15 and runs through September 20. Legnica residents already know who should win the 2014 Golden Lion. “The Photographer” will also close the 30th Warsaw Film Festival, held from October 10 to 19.
“The Photographer”: directed by Waldemar Krzystek; screenplay by Waldemar Krzystek and Krzysztof Kopka. The film features well-known Polish and Russian actors: Sonia Bohosiewicz, Adam Woronowicz, Agata Buzek, Tomasz Kot (a Legnica native), Karol Kadłubiec, Tatiana Arntgolts, Alexandr Baluev, Andrei Kostash (as Kola), Alena Babenko, Marat Basharov, Nodar Dzhanelidze, Aleksey Gorbunov and Victor Demertash. Cinematography: Arkadiusz Tomiak; production design: Dorota Dąbrowska; music: Maciej Zieliński; editing: Marek “Mulny” Mulica.