Thursday, 06 August 2009 12:56

Finding the audience of TWO RIVERSIDES Festival trustworthy, Jerzy Stuhr sat in the confessional.

Kieślowski once said: Everything has already been written down. Now we just have to find artists who will breathe life and emotions into the characters for money. Being a film director I don’t feel like an artist. That’s someone you are from time to time.

Being an actor I’m only a performer of someone else’s thought. That’s why directing a film is so tempting because you begin to rule people. In a way I’m manipulating the audience. They are forced to see what I see, through my eyes. I often wonder: Have I got the right to manipulate people’s emotions? Don’t I exceed my powers too much?

Writing a film script you can stumble upon the dangerous and perverse desire to create characters, their space and relations. The director should be the organizer of the film world, not a demiurge.

Even the resources you get to make the film can be a burden that deprives you of self-confidence. Stage fright appears when you ask yourself: Are my thoughts worth it? All costs and full responsibility for the film can be petrifying. It’s the same with choosing a subject of the film. The loss of confidence and courage is the worst sin a film maker can commit.

The article was taken from the festival periodical, ‘TWO RIVERSIDES Voice’ no 6.

The interview with Jerzy Stuhr at TWO RIVERSIDES Festival

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