Flickerfest 2019 - Atlas
A remote, and a bit crazy, psychiatric hospital receives a curious patient. He doesn’t move nor speak, but spends his days standing with his hands up. The only thing known is his nickname: “Atlas”. In a word, he is a riddle, and a riveting one at that.
Interview with Director Maciej Kawalski
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
At the time of making the film I was studying medicine and film directing simultaneously, the story that came out of the two was a bridge between the two worlds. It couples some real life observations I had in various hospitals with an imaginative play with storytelling.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Atlas deals with serious matters of identity in a comedic and slightly surreal way, so if you like discussing important issues with a pinch of flippancy and Monty Pythonesque perspective, then you will enjoy it (I hope).
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
To me “Atlas” is a story of identity, namely what happens if one doesn’t declare oneself, doesn’t say "this is who I am and this is what I subscribe to," but leave it to the outside world to decide. This struggle to find myself before the outside world puts me into a box not of my choosing was what led me to make this film and what ails its main character – Atlas.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Funnily enough, is didn’t evolve much. I wrote it when applying to a film school, as a part of an entry exam, and a good few years later submitted it to Munk Studio's program called “Thirty Minutes,” thanks to which the film got financed. So for the better or worse, the story is raw and untouched by later film school education.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I was overjoyed to receive feedback that was not only positive, but that managed to see aspects of the film that I didn’t consciously put in there. I think this is the greatest delight for a creator to see audience find something in your art, to respond and resonate with it and surprise its maker by an interpretation they didn’t see coming, but that is nonetheless valid and perceptive. It feels like a find to mind transfer with omission of the conscious chatter, but somehow connecting on a deeper level.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
As I said above, what surprised and thrilled me was to see that people find new ways to read my film, ways that I didn’t envision when making it. I love when audience makes the art their own, by the act of receiving and decoding it.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I would love more people to see the film and strike a discussion on the importance of carving one’s identity before the outside world does it for us. Also, I would love to hear even more different ways of how people read it and hopefully enjoyed it.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Any help to amplify its outreach would be a godsend. I guess any of the above, given they resonate with the film, could help make a big leap ahead.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like it to have two effects. On an immediate and superficial level I want my audience to have fun and enjoy it, it’s a comedy first and foremost. But then, after the laughter dies down I would love the film to make the viewers think about the importance of standing one’s ground, of carving out one’s identity before somebody else does it for you, and hopefully, make “Atlas” be an encouragement and a spark for somebody to change one’s lives – to find courage and inspiration to lead I life as one wishes it, not as others see it.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Would you rather live a life you want or leave it to others to decide for you?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
The lead actor, Tomasz Kot, is also the star of “Cold War,” a film by an Academy Award winning director, Pawel Pawlikowski. Together with the cinematographer, Pawel Dyllus, I am currently working on a new prime time TV series for Canal+.
Interview: January 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Atlas
A remote, and a bit crazy, psychiatric hospital receives a curious patient. He doesn’t move nor speak, but spends his days standing with his hands up. The only thing known is his nickname: “Atlas”. In a word, he is a riddle, and a riveting one at that.
Length: 28 minutes
Director: Maciej Kawalski
About the writer, director and producer:
MACIEJ KAWALSKI is a writer-director who also happens to be a doctor of medicine. Maciej currently works on a prime time TV series and his feature film debut.
Key cast: Tomasz Kot (Cold War)
Looking for: distributors, film festival directors, journalists
Funders: Munk Studio
Made in association with: Film Produkcja
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? The film is on the festival circuit but the next screening is not yet settled.