Still from Jerzy Stuhr's "Big Animal", photo: www.dystrybucja.tvp.pl
Kicking off the Monthly Polish Film Series 2013 organised by the Polish Society, the Austin Public Library in Texas presents a comedy about a man, a woman and their camel, directed by the legendary Polish actor and filmmaker Jerzy Stuhr, written by Krzysztof Kieślowski, with cinematography by Paweł Edelman and music by Abel Korzeniowski.
Mr. Sawicki, a respectable bank clerk, appears in the streets of his town in the company of a camel. The residents are astonished. Their initial friendliness and surprise turns into widespread hostility. Local government offices demand that the camel be registered and taxes paid for it. Officials receive letters claiming the animal is soiling the streets and distracting children at school and, most importantly, could be the carrying a tropical disease. Picket lines appear in front of the Sawickis' house, demanding that the exotic resident be removed.
Written in 1973, the script was meant to become the feature debut of Krzysztof Kieślowski but, due to protests from the authorities of the time, it was never produced. Filmmaker Janusz Morgenstern discovered the scenario in Wiesbaden in 1998 and proposed producing Big Animal with Jerzy Stuhr directing. The project was realized in 2000. Talking about developing his friend Kieślowski's script, Jerzy Stuhr says,
I had the opportunity to give shape to something that was his idea, his aspiration. Secondly, this is my first poetic film. [...] This time I dared to try metaphor, I tried to find a different sensitivity in myself. This story carries a message that is important to me personally. It is a very painful element of our lives: tolerance. […] I think that a form of a whimsical poetic metaphor will allow for a dialogue with the viewer.
The screening takes place at the Austin Public Library, Manchaca Branch, 5500 Manchaca Rd, Austin, Texas on Sunday the 17th of February 2013 at 3:30 pm
For more information see: Austin Polish Society
Sources: courtesy of the Polish Society Austin
Editor: Marta Jazowska