Poland Release of In Search of Chopin

IN SEARCH OF CHOPIN OPENS IN POLAND

Hi – I am just back from Poland and I thought I’d let you know that IN SEARCH OF CHOPIN has been released in the composer’s home country and hopefully will be seen far & wide.

It took a little while to get this far, it must be said.  It was important to find the right distributor and then find the right time to release the film.  I think, in the end, we did both.  Cikanek Management do our EXHIBITION ON SCREEN films in Poland (plus Czech Republic and Slovakia) and they are smart and hard-working. They also have a genuine love for classical music which helps. Other distributors I have talked to didn't know their Chopin from their shopping.  As for timing, we waited for Chopin's birthday (attributed to March 1st).    Thus I flew into Warsaw on the 29th February - and immediately dashed to the first of many press conferences. But this was the hardest one - 35 journalists in Chopin's home town of Warsaw.  You could see it in their eyes: 'who is this foreign guy making a film about our national hero? What has he to say that we don't know already?'   The head of the Chopin festival was there to kindly introduce me and then the questions started. It was odd because the conference preceded their seeing the film but I managed OK.  Then they all disappeared into the cinema to watch it....We waited.  We had a beer. We waited some more...then they all filed out and back for a Q&A session. And – luckily - they had absolutely loved it!  I admit to having been pretty nervous so to impress the country's top film and music journalists was a real thrill.  The main areas they loved - and this was repeated time and again across the country during my week's tour - was the sense of Chopin the man, the humour in the letters, the historical insight of experts like Jeremy Siepmann and Hershey Felder and definitely the words and music of the performers such as Leif Ove, Lars, Ronald, Kevin, Nelson, Daniel and Janusz.

In the evening, we had a VIP screening in Warsaw - and that too went very well. Again, I had feared that the Q&A would give folk the opportunity to find fault - maybe an omitted piece of music or a different view on his character - but that simply didn’t happen. They were delighted by the humanity of Chopin, the portrayal of him as a multi-faceted man dedicated to music.  And of course folk loved the fact that I make it very clear that he is a Polish composer created in the cultural centre that was Warsaw at that time.   One interesting criticism that someone made was to point out that I'd used paintings to show old Warsaw but black and white photographs to show Paris - and that somehow made Warsaw seem actually backward in comparison. You certainly have to be careful editing a film and think of everything. I can't claim to have learnt that much at my film college but semiotics (the science of signs or, to be clearer, the fact that every image carries many meanings) was essential.   A few glasses of wine later and the only sign I was interested in was the one directing me to my hotel room.

 

The next day was March 1st - officially Chopin's birthday. I was honoured to have been invited to the Church of the Holy Cross (where Chopin's heart is buried) for a ceremony with the Chopin Institute and Ministry of Culture.  It was moving to think his heart is still there, all these years later and after all that has happened to poor old Poland.   Then, after coffee with the wonderful Monika Strugala from the Institute, I and my distribution colleagues headed off to the train station to catch the train to Wroclaw.  It was a great modern train with a great lunch  - British railways please take note!   In fact, throughout this week there were many examples of a fresh, modernising country – maybe funded by EU money? – such as wonderful tram networks in every city. 

Wroclaw takes your breathe away - a beautiful city (despite the endless grey skies and drizzle) where recently Spielberg apparently filmed some of Bridge of Spies.  We had another super screening at a very impressive cinema, more press interviews, a very positive Q&A, signed lots of DVDs, had McDonalds for dinner (I was hungry but wanted to get back to the hotel to check emails, etc!) and then eventually got to bed.  The next day was back to the cinema for a screening for schoolkids - 350 of them!  I thought it would be disaster but they were engrossed and had so many questions afterwards...then they all rushed the stage for a photo. That’s a first!  The surprised looking old man in the middle is me!   By now I was losing my voice and drinking lemon & ginger in hot water by the litre but there was no time to recover...next was Czestochowa for another sell-out screening, press, DVD signing, etc...(and dinner of pierogies - Poland's national dish of dumplings. Delicious).

 

Up at 5am for a dash to Silesian TV studios for a spot on the news...then checked into hotel in Katowice.  An industrial town but no less interesting for that.  Most impressive was their stunning new concert hall - wonderful.  It is built on what used to be a huge coal mine - could it be too much to hope that it's a sign of things to come? Art being given pride of place in the redevelopment of cities?  It was a busy day today with screenings in Katowice and Gilwice but all went well once again. Sell-outs and positive reactions by the press. The only fear is that all this previewing and press response doesn't really achieve that much – if there are not enough cinemas booked to follow up - or if there are, folk still don't come out.

One thing that has been fantastic has been the desire by all audiences to talk about EXHIBITION ON SCREEN - they all love the films and the series as a whole. It's lovely to think an idea we had a few years ago now brings joy (more importantly, art) to towns and cities like these around the world.

 

The last day was spent in Krakow. Here the audience was not a sell-out. There were opening nights for opera and the symphony on the same night so maybe that's why.  The couple of hundred that did turn up really enjoyed it though.  It is hard to know as whereas in other cities the lines for signed DVDs were very long, here everyone dashed off. It's strange how different audiences behave so differently.  The idea that there is a homogenous group that come to one's film is a total myth.  One thing, however, that was asked every night though in the question and answers was the question about my own name. Did I have Polish roots?  I do: my paternal grandparents came from Warsaw (hence the name Grabsky) and were lucky enough to leave for the USA before the first world war. Part of the appeal in taking on Chopin as a film was to find out more about my own past.  Similarly, part of the appeal in criss-crossing Poland this week was to find out even more about the country of my grandparents. Wandering the old streets of Krakow, not least the Jewish quarter, you get a real sense of how life used to be.  Thus I haven't been disappointed. I can see why Chopin, in Paris, was homesick.

POLISH REVIEWS:

‘An exceptional documentary - Grabsky has no ready-made hypotheses; he readily listens to the experts in front of his camera and films in an exciting way the music and places that he’s discovers – definitely worth seeing’.  (Jacek Marczyński, Rzeczpospolita)

 ‘Absolutely fascinating story-telling – this is a work of art of the highest quality. Grabsky has perfected this style. The whole beautifully photographed movie is carefully woven from different narratives: the author’s, the letters and, particularly valuable, interviews with musicians. These are the best performers of Chopin: Janusz Olejniczak, Lars Vogt, Daniel Barenboim, Ronald Brautigam, Kevin Kenner. Grabsky finds a new Chopin – a character full of life, humour, remarkable achievements and, at the same time, a touch of mystery.’ (Barbara Lekarczyk-Cisek, kulturaonline.pl)

 ‘The cinematography in this movie is truly exquisite. It is an absolute pleasure to watch. Chopin is shown from a different and unconventional perspective. The interviews are fantastic and really pack an emotional punch. Quoting extensively from Chopin’s letters is a great idea as it shows his fantastic sense of humour. The musicians are wonderful. This is a film that is really worth seeing.’ (Dorota Szwarcman, Polityka)