Multifaceted Polish filmmaker Natalia Zuch is something of a wunderkind: having effortlessly applied her talents to the realms of documentary filmmaking, dance and choreography, curation and various other multimedia projects, she’s entering yet another new arena: the curation of one of Berlin’s beloved film festivals. At 33 years old, Zuch has just taken over as the head of filmPOLSKA, the 19-years-running celebration of Polish cinema. Her reign represents a new era bursting with ideas and energy and a strengthened cinematic connection between Berlin and Poland.
filmPOLSKA is about all things Polish film, but takes place in Berlin for a mostly Berlin audience. How do you approach communicating between two countries in terms of people and ideas?
The experience of immigration brought me to work on a lot of cross-border projects. And all these projects taught me that communication between two different countries requires a lot of patience, open ears and readiness to (un)learn. The key is to exchange stereotypes with curiosity and mutual inspiration. And this is what we want to offer to our Berlin audience at the 19th filmPOLSKA festival. The theme of the upcoming festival is change. With our film programme, we’d like to raise questions around changes we want to see within us, around us; what it takes to undergo a transformation and how to make a change last. We don’t have any answers, but we have loads of great films and an invitation to all Berliners to join us in cinemas, at Q&As and at the festival party to playfully look for answers together.
The key is to exchange stereotypes with curiosity and mutual inspiration.
How did you get involved with the festival?
It all started in 2020 with curating one programme of short films. Then for the next three years I coordinated the festival and curated the main programmes. I lost my heart to filmPOLSKA. It has the charm of a small, cosy, intimate festival, yet it’s an 8-day celebration of Polish cinema. This year, we present over 50 films in six different programmes.
Next to the film programme, there’s also an exhibition of the Oscar-winner Allan Starski’s work and a masterclass with Allan, the filmPOLSKA party with an unconventional DJ set by contemporary Polish journalists, a documentary film workshop with Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski… filmPOLSKA delivers a strong festival programme while at the same time keeping its easy-going and focusing on community encounters between filmmakers and audience, between Berlin and Poland. I love that!
What was Polish film culture like when you were growing up there?
It has a lot to do with growing up in my hometown Łódź – a city in which film lurks in every corner. Of course, Łódź is wrapped in the legend of the great film school [National Film School in Łódź], where all the famous Polish filmmakers strolled and studied, but it’s also a post-industrial black sheep of Poland, through which [the winds of] boredom, unemployment and oblivion blew. Filmmaking became a way for me to escape this heavy city and to dream big, express myself and look out for beauty in daily existence, whatever it brings. I fell deeply in love with Łódź. There’s no other city where I feel such a tremendous urge to grab a camera.
Did your surroundings growing up play a part in your subsequent practice?
When I think about growing up, I right away go back in time to a hot summer day, hanging out on a blue bench between blocks, waiting for nothing and everything at the same time. The time passed by so differently back then, it definitely wasn’t linear. The greatest ideas and friendships come out of these seemingly-still moments. Today I’m looking out for these moments in the films that end up in the festival programme, in holding [my] camera patiently, in facilitating dance floors.
You moved to Berlin in 2014. Is there something particular about the city that has drawn you to its culture?
Yes, the celebration of public space as a place that belongs to all. I see it in the octopus-shaped kites blowing over the Tempelhofer Feld. I hear it in the cracked vinyls played by a stranger at Maybachufer. I smell it in the Sunday grill on Sonnenallee. You can go window shopping here for days. The goods that you don’t get to buy are the oddest porcelain figures on a windowsill; some friends hanging out on a balcony listening to music that you want to Shazam right away; politically engaged rhymes on walls; skaters who blow your mind… actually, you can go window shopping here for months, years, not days.
You’ve said that the many different aspects of your work complement one another. How do your many talents thread together?
Documentary filmmaking brought me a great understanding of what it takes to share your artistic expression, and I bring this vulnerability into my work as a curator. Then being a dance facilitator taught me a lot about holding spaces for others, which is so essential while creating a film festival. Curating film programmes constantly expands my ideas on how to connect with the audience, and that definitely boosts my creativity while developing a film or creating a dance floor. It’s so, so beautiful to see how these threads complement each other. It took me a while to get there, but finally I am in a place where I am really playing around with different formats, genres, and work systems. My next project will be a very funny, weird-yet-charming hybrid.
You’ve spoken about how important community is to filmmaking. How will this come into play as you take on this new role?
Film is such teamwork! Of course, there are great pieces done by one person, like in the case of [Lithuanian filmmaker] Jonas Mekas, for example. However, these are exceptions. The same goes for a festival. We are a huge group of people working hard on the programme, promotion, organisation… There’s so much hidden labour in the art and culture sector. And what I care most about is the workflow in the team. It’s my goal to work in environments where people feel supported, appreciated, inspired, healthy. To be honest, I care about it more than about the end products, such as films or festival programmes. And I am a true believer that the work environment will reflect on the end product anyways.
It’s my goal to work in environments where people feel supported, appreciated, inspired, healthy.
What can we look forward to at this year’s edition of the festival – any choice highlights?
We kick off the festival on September 11 with the moving documentary In The Rearview by Maciek Hamela, which was shortlisted for the Oscars this year. Warmly recommend! The Competition programme this year is very diverse and strong. In Competition we present the latest releases from young Polish filmmakers – young in cinematic achievements, not in age. It’s a great opportunity to have an honest look into what’s going on on the other side of the Oder River and to experience some bold storytelling.
Every year with Deutsches Historisches Museum we present a Retrospective; this year it’s a special programme to mark the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. For dessert we have three short film programmes, including Kunst im Kino, a programme showcasing films made by artists, not filmmakers. This year the focus is on attempts to critically illuminate the phenomenon of ritual. I am also introducing a new festival format, in which we invite different film festivals to co-curate at filmPOLSKA. This year we’re going to showcase HER Docs festival from Warsaw with a programme called ‘Good Girls No More’, focused on female rebellion.
The festival will have a bit of everything, but you primarily make documentaries. What is it about this form that you’re so fond of?
Documentaries, whether watching or making them, bring me such a profound feeling of wonder, connection, diversity and respect for the world we live in.
- filmPOLSKA, Sep 11-18, various locations, details.
