GALO: You decided to show a powerful erotic scene between two men. Why did you pick a very realistic form for this scene? Many film directors showcase these types of scenes in a more concealed sort of way. What sort of reaction do you anticipate from the viewer? Do you not think that by showing such scenes, it will only further ignite the controversy between people who have a tolerant standpoint on homosexuality and those who negate relationships between those of the same gender (especially in Poland)?

TW: In films, I am most interested in the truth and emotions. I really like a raw type of cinema — a realistic cinema.

As you noticed, a lot of the time I simply place the camera on a stand and the actors play their roles, very often these are master shots, and the scene begins and ends without any cutting. And for me this is a type of truth, I personally look for this type of honesty in the cinema. I am deeply fascinated with Austrian cinema, for instance with the films of Ulrich Seidl or Michael Hanake. I think this doesn’t even have anything to do with fascination…I always put myself in the position of the viewer, and what usually affects me, I try to transfer into my own films — and what typically moves me is rawness and truth.

I wanted to show scenes from the beginning till the end, without any cuts and without any sugarcoating or additions. I agree with you that this film will probably be controversial in Poland, but I don’t think that it will only be because of the erotic scenes. The erotic scenes, if you noticed, don’t differ from the rest of the film. They are created in the same type of language, and I didn’t make them in such a way as to particularly shock anyone. I know the film will preserve some controversy, but I don’t care for eliciting shock. I care about reaching people and telling the truth. I make films because I want to tell stories about people, this is what interests me. I don’t make films to shock people or to elicit controversy…of course, often times, these things accompany a film like this one and we won’t be able to avoid it, but that was not my intention. I see the world in this type of way; I see it in a very authentic way. As mentioned before, I place my camera on a stand and I record without any cuts in master shot, and then the truth comes out. The actors sometimes forget that they’re playing a role, and suddenly they become the characters they’re playing, and all the awkwardness, the lengthiness, give me, as a viewer, a certain type of intimacy, a sort of truth, which I simply look for in cinema; I didn’t want to deceive the viewer.

We talked for quite some time with the actors — because, I think, the scene with Sylwia is also very intimate (the love scene) — and we also thought about it for a while, how to best capture it so that it is in accordance with the characters, and so we decided that this would be the best way for it. I am aware of the fact that these roles were difficult for them, because there was [a bit of] nakedness, and on set there really isn’t a great deal of intimacy as it is a large group of people [that is working on the film]. It was important to us to say something about the soul or spirit of these people, so that the erotic scenes would be authentic. Our purpose wasn’t to shock people. Therefore, I hope that when one is watching the film, the expression of it is understood; that these scenes aren’t meant to be taken as separate or been done to surprise anyone.

GALO: You mention in the press notes that New York City was your inspiration for the film. And that at the age of 13, “while gazing at the skyscrapers of Midtown,” you had come up with the title of Floating Skyscrapers (Płynące Wieżowce) and decided in that very moment that this title would one day be used in a film of your own. Why did you decide that this was the perfect film for that title — what about its plot and hidden messages, made it the perfect fit? Also, in the film, there is a scene where the title is mentioned by Michał’s father as he refers to Michał’s childhood…

TW: New York wasn’t an inspiration for the film, but rather it was only an inspiration for the title. I first came to New York City with my parents on vacation as a 13-year-old. Cinema in itself always interested me. As a child I thought that I would become an actor, and very early in life, I felt that I wanted to make movies. And I remember a certain flashback, and essentially this is a great story because I remember how my father took photographs of myself, my sister and my mom, and I had Manhattan’s skyscrapers in front of me, and two words came to my mind then: Floating Skyscrapers (Płynące Wieżowce), and these words stayed with me for quite some time. So, one day, I told myself that I’d like to make a film based off this title, and this title was a great fit for me in regards to this film. Floating skyscrapers is a metaphor of emotionality, the emotions that this film brings — this is what’s so great.

In terms of New York, I have a different story. Ten years ago, I won a green card — and I always wanted to make a film in NY, and I am going to try to make a film here, especially because I want to start writing a script which takes place in NY — and so when I got into the National Film School in Łódź (which isn’t easy to do), I decided that I would take a year off from college and I came to NY for a year to see what would happen to me. I even got into Hunter College — I could have studied there, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the money to do so. I had to work in one of the bars, where I began my work day at 6 a.m., and I remember a specific moment when I came to NY with the anticipation of making films and with a strong sense of hope…and so I remember this one morning, where at 6 a.m. [laughs] I was kneading pizza crust, and I thought to myself, “Stop. I want to make films.” So the following day, I quit the job and came back to Poland, finished my college degree, and now I am back in NY with this film. And for me personally, this is a dream come true. Therefore, when it comes to NY that is my story — that somewhere NY was always a dream for me and I tried to show up here. Hence, the fact that I am here at Tribeca with a world premiere of the film, is really special to me.

GALO: You also mention that when you were in the process of writing this film, it “was with great conviction that you wanted to fill a gap in Polish cinema, which has been reluctant to tackle difficult contemporary stories.” Can you talk a little bit about this and what your thoughts have been regarding Polish cinema in recent years, specifically the fact that in Poland there are more films that focus in on the themes of sensationalism or comedy, which often use the names of well-known actors as a marketing tool in hopes of attracting a wider audience and gaining commercial success?

(Interview continued on next page)