We knew that the project of the Presidency would be an interesting and difficult challenge, mainly because of the expectations attached to it. A project of this kind, which concerns such an elusive issue as the promotion of a whole country, is a project in which everybody would have a different opinion and a different vision. The project should combine different visions and tastes, aim at being as universal as possible, and to a certain extent be the effect of a compromise, though not one which would make it boring. This resembles walking a tightrope, but this is what makes this project interesting.
Polandis the main character of the Presidency. The European Union is a great idea and it is the future of Europe but, for us, it is Poland that is now in the centre and this is reflected in our film. A Pole initiates the events in the film and it is he who changes the reality. Since we explore the space of symbols, allegories and somewhat poetic associations, dance seemed to be a natural way of depicting this change.
In our movie, Europe is a beautiful, yet cold woman closed in an icy and architectonically austere space. On the surface it lacks nothing. The space is well designed, though it is a down-to-earth design. Europe in the first scenes is very beautiful, but lifeless. In a gap between the buildings there a man appears. In our film this is a symbol which represents Poland. This new character invites Europe to dance and he makes her and the surrounding architecture more vivid, and brings them to life. At the end of the film, although seemingly we leave the very same space, a wry smile tugs at the corner of Europe’s mouth, the light is much warmer and more positive, and the gap between buildings is bridged by a new building: Poland, as it may be guessed.
The associations are simple but this is what we were aiming for in our work. The film should be as universal as possible and, in a traditional sense, pleasant to watch. We put a lot of effort into creating the image of both characters and finding a suitable style. We needed characters that would be realistic enough to make the dance and their emotions towards each other recognizable but not too much realistic: we wanted to avoid falling prey to computer animation and end up with some realistically looking but stiff and lifeless zombies. The characters were supposed to look like graphically animated characters with slightly exaggerated proportions.
It was challenging to design the outfit of a character which would instantly be associated with Poland. All the strong and obvious symbols had connotations with sports fans, rather than poetic or dance-related themes. At the same time we wanted the outfit to be relatively classic; just a shirt and trousers – simple elegance. Finding a solution to meet all of these goals took us a while. We experimented with various forms of the white eagle, and various combinations of red and white but the effects were still disappointing. Only the decision to use a sophisticated arabesque of Art Nouveau style enabled us to overcome this problem.
Inviting Adam Skorupa to work on the music was a wonderful decision. Adam is known for strong and heavy symphonic pieces, but he proved to be tailor-made for this part. We have very Polish, piano-forte tones for the meter of the Viennese waltz and a strong movie-like finale. The soundtrack was of great help with the idea and the film. It was also an inspiration for Agustin Egurrola, responsible for the choreography which was loosely based on the steps of the Viennese waltz.
It was one of the most interesting projects we have dealt with in our Platige Image studio this year. I believe that the audience will like it, even if such topics always provoke discussion and everyone in Poland has their own view of what such a film should look like. So, I hand the film over to the audience. Now, it is their turn.
