At the beginning of his meeting, Tomasz Sekielski said that no subject he had covered so far had provoked such a wide-ranging nationwide discussion. He compared his documentary “Tell No One” to the tapes of Renata Beger, which recorded how “PiS politicians proposed to her.”
– Indeed, there was a political storm [przy nagraniach Beger] – Sekielski said. – It was a recording famous throughout Poland, but it did not provoke a discussion like “Tell No One.” In fact, at every turn I meet someone who has seen this film, who was involved in this film. Even on my way to Bolesławiec, I stopped at a petrol station, and a woman there approached me. No journalistic material in the history of Polish journalism has ever started such a discussion. This is my greatest achievement so far. It is a good beginning, because I intend to do other great things – the documentary’s author declared.
The journalist also said that the film and its distribution are important for determining the future of the media. – The way my film reached everyone shows that you do not need to have a large television station; you need good material and an idea, because the Internet makes it possible to reach everyone – Sekielski said.
After filming the documentary, Tomasz Sekielski dealt with the experience by playing video games, which, as he admitted, resulted in less contact with his family, including his son. However, he was unable to neutralize what he had experienced while recording the testimonies of rape and abuse victims in any other way.
– It was difficult; my brother did not take part in all the conversations because we wanted to provide the most intimate atmosphere possible for the people recounting all these experiences in front of the camera – Sekielski recounted. – And when he received all the recordings, he wanted to watch them all at once. He stopped during the second one....
The journalist said that the recordings were hardest for the victims themselves.
– They decided to talk about themselves without any guarantee that nothing unpleasant would happen to them. They were the true heroes of this film – the journalist said. – They decided to bear witness. In such conversations, you have to be honest, because these people are emotionally exposed; they sense falsehood and artificiality in a person, so you have to be completely honest with them. I had a situation in which one of the victims vomited after the interview. We cannot imagine how psychological wounds affect people physically; it is unbelievable.
The journalist also spoke about the sluggishness of the Polish justice system in relation to the Catholic Church.
– Let us imagine that a teacher in Bolesławiec abuses a child, but has a friend who is a school superintendent, and that superintendent, using his position and authority, transfers the teacher from one school to another – Sekielski said. – And let us suppose that the case comes to light and journalists expose it. I would bet a large sum that masked officers would enter the superintendent’s and the teacher’s homes the day after the material was published. They would not wait several months; they would act immediately. This is a hypothetical situation, because in this case the state is strangely sluggish when it comes to the Church in Poland.
Tomasz Sekielski also commented on the homophobic post by the director father Adam Langhammer from the Piarist order. Sekielski explained that claiming that pedophilia in the Church is an issue involving homosexual priests is a major oversimplification.
– The film includes testimonies from women, because this is not only a problem involving homosexual people, as the director father graciously diagnosed it – Sekielski said. – Let me remind you that the largest proportion of pedophilic acts concerns families: fathers, uncles and brothers. There is no question of homosexual inclinations here. According to a survey conducted by the Church – I do not remember the exact figure, but approximately 60% of boys and 40% of girls are sexually abused in the Church. Priests have easier access to boys because boys serve as altar boys. Girls definitely come into contact with priests less often. It would of course be convenient for many clergymen to say that pedophilia is a problem of homosexuality, although in my opinion homosexuality is not a perversion, while the Church teaches that it is an illness or a perversion. I must disappoint the director father: the Church has a bigger problem with pedophilia than with the “homosexual lobby” – the journalist added.
Sekielski also addressed the issue of the recent elections to the European Parliament.
– Before the elections, it was announced that PiS would lose because of my film; after the elections, it was announced that the European Coalition had lost because of my film. This is absurd. It shows how low political commentary and analysis have sunk. If within four days one can say something absolutely opposite, then it is simply rock bottom. Politicians from the European Coalition were frightened by the issue because that is what commentators decided. They could have gone out first and asked people. But they base their views on what they themselves think, what they decide in the parliamentary hotel. And they are sometimes surprised that the State thinks differently. PiS decided that it was strong enough not to have to worry about the issue – Tomasz Sekielski said.