In his previous film Techno, Łysiak, who directed The Dress as a student in Warsaw Film School, told the story of a man taking care of his wife who suffers from Alzheimer’s – speaking about excluded people that pop culture doesn’t tend to like to talk about. Yet, Łysiak’s films have nothing in common with a school lecture.The Dress is not a story about the drama of little people, but rather about rejection, loneliness and the need of a partner, about dreams crashing into harsh reality. No matter who you are.
To paint a portrait of Julia, the director, along with award-winning cinematographer Konrad Bloch, decided to use a film language that would allow the audience to forget about the protagonist’s physical appearance. Instead of wide shots, they chose close-ups, getting as close to Julia as possible. In his interview with the Polish Press Agency, Tadeusz Łysiak stated:
We kept repeating to ourselves, like a mantra, that we’re not doing a film about a little person but about a woman with dreams and desires. We wanted to create a visual world in which the audience would forget about Julia’s physical differences. We decided to keep looking into her eyes as they show the image of one’s personality, mind and emotions. We wanted Julia to be a mirror that would reflect our own fears, prejudices, desires and dreams.
This was possible thanks to the remarkable actress that is Anna Dzieduszycka. When beginning to work on The Dress, Łysiak had already wanted her as the lead. They already knew each other, as they had worked together on his previous student short. It is Dzieduszycka who helped the director create the final version of the script. As a little person herself, she could easily point our any falseness and suggest better, more accurate screenwriting solutions.