00:00:00: Hi!

00:00:01: We're here to speak about your first English language feature, Good Boy.

00:00:06: I'm also known as Heel.

00:00:07: there are a lot of good boy films around at the moment so they had to change the title a little.

00:00:12: Which title would you personally prefer?

00:00:14: Well

00:00:15: i'd prefer Good Boy Honestly...I think Good Boy was the original title and we felt that Good Boy works on many levels.

00:00:22: You'll say Good Boy when he does something well And then you want to pat it or comfort him.

00:00:28: Good boy, you did well.

00:00:30: It's in line with what the film is about What it's about training process Re-education sort of like.

00:00:36: I would love to prefer a good boy But only learn about other films titled Good Boy.

00:00:41: The American producer changed the title Only for America.

00:00:45: So his heel in America

00:00:46: Speaking of dogs Actually the main character becomes kind of Pavlovsky and dog.

00:00:51: He turns into one by family that kidnaps him And then tries to cursively condition into submissive versions of their supposedly lost child.

00:01:02: Your film features on themes of classism, also a class aggression or social tensions.

00:01:09: we have toxic masculinity actually presented in that very interesting way.

00:01:13: We have here conflict between the wealthy middle-class intellectualist academic and working class which shows young offender who looks like hard partying life aggressive.

00:01:25: he's vulgar with a cliche portrait of the middle class, and also a very negative

00:01:38: cliche about working in underclass.

00:01:40: So I wanted to ask how much is that intentional?

00:01:46: And how much do you actually have researched the middle- and the working

00:01:56: class?".

00:01:57: I lived for my whole life.

00:01:59: I live-lived more in the working class district of Warsaw to a certain degree, i can use my empathy and empathize obviously but im not workin' class myself with good boy we had... In the original script We have Tommy coming from us super working class background With father who's drunk And mother whose like they're both drunks They are horrible.

00:02:22: Our script writer comes form almost like a worker class background.

00:02:27: So he wrote it as a working-class boy being kidnapped by an upper middle class couple.

00:02:33: what I did with the script is, i changed that when we were researching in Britain.

00:02:38: first We went to The Working Class districts In Manchester and then in Leeds because That's where we got the money from regional funds.

00:02:47: And Then I realized It's not actually great for the film To make Tommy craving A comfort of Being and a more wealthy background at the point of this film.

00:02:58: That's why we changed it, We changeed?

00:03:00: It was very last addition to the script When we started shooting in Warsaw... ...we start with Warsaw part of the shooting because whole house is built in Warsaw In studio And The Last Part is in Britain.

00:03:12: Even then.. ..We still had working class.

00:03:15: you know brick houses I would say Billy Elliot type of background.

00:03:19: Billy

00:03:19: Elliot is also fictional film that doesn't show an accurate portrait

00:03:23: after real working

00:03:24: class.

00:03:24: I just want to make a little note.

00:03:26: Yeah, you know...I don't know about this because i'm not an expert.

00:03:31: That's why it didn't ring true for me.

00:03:33: So what we did was..i told the producer that i dont feel working class background at all and they said like then What do We Do with This?

00:03:41: And i said Why Don't You Move Tommy To Something I Know Which Is Like Small Housing Middle Class Britain?

00:03:48: And We Went To This Middle Class Neighborhood In Britain And Leeds.

00:03:53: Thats What We Did.

00:03:53: So Tommy is middle-class Yorkshire, that's the background of Tommy.

00:03:58: The difference between Tommy and his family is smaller than it was originally.

00:04:03: And that was one of my additions as a director to move him up the social ladder and make him more middle class, so he's middle-class.

00:04:11: his mom is middle class.

00:04:13: there's only one scene with him being with his mum.

00:04:16: It's normal Middle Class Yorkshire house.

00:04:19: we changed everything.

00:04:21: We found different.

00:04:22: mother also Tommy on his casting.

00:04:25: Anson himself comes from a middle class family So He using accent.

00:04:30: He comes from the north too, so he's using the accent of what he knows.

00:04:35: So it was.

00:04:36: if anybody in the film is sort of using The Working Class background It's Steven Graham who is originally from Liverpool and she's using this weird mixture.

00:04:47: I'm Polish ,so i can only trust them that they did a. well This weird mixture of accents tries to cover for the whole film, his original Liverpool accent with something more posh.

00:05:00: He said it's a common trait of people who want to sound more poshed.

00:05:04: That is why he says that he over-pronounces words like appreciate in terms... you know despite appreciating and stuff.

00:05:13: So what I did was actually move away from working class because i didn't feel it!

00:05:19: the theme of forced rehabilitations.

00:05:23: The film presents sadism and physical violence as a form of tough love that ultimately to the person's benefit, at least we cannot deny there is strong social difference between them.

00:05:36: And this film presents these aspects of forced rehabilitation are something that ultimately beneficial.

00:05:43: I was quite disturbed to see the audience agree with it and strongly rejoiced in scenes of torture.

00:05:49: Did you intend on being enjoyable?

00:05:52: And do you think that rehabilitation has to be in quotes,

00:05:55: have

00:05:56: to be effective?

00:05:57: You know I'm a parent myself and i would never hit my child.

00:06:00: Never!

00:06:01: I've never done it.

00:06:02: Violence is not the answer.

00:06:03: so this film to me was honestly... It was the shock element of this film.

00:06:08: If there's any responsibility for art To do anything Art shouldn't ever be propaganda.

00:06:15: Art should be provocative.

00:06:17: We will push away from your comfort zones.

00:06:20: Always loved artists who were doing this like Lars von Trier, you know Alejandro Rodorowski as an artist.

00:06:27: So Jezus Kalimovsky was the producer of Good Boy.

00:06:30: his cinema was This he always pushed boundaries and she was provoking.

00:06:35: check our boundaries.

00:06:37: He sent me good boy And I felt oh Jesus!

00:06:39: This is crazy provocative even unacceptable film.

00:06:43: to a certain degree i liked it.

00:06:46: I Like what this film Was Doing To Me because It Was Checking My Boundaries.

00:06:50: If I do this, i have to be bold about it as a creator and even...I had to take into account some people will totally receive the film like you received.

00:07:01: And..i just had to embrace that and take its face value and say It's gonna be provocative!

00:07:07: Its going to be rough around the edges.

00:07:10: Probably evoke some absolutely uncomfortable questions about liberty vs acceptance in love & comfort care.

00:07:20: This is what probably at the core of many provocative words-of-art, like, in nineteen eighty four it's all about.

00:07:27: It shows a person who fights with this system.

00:07:31: The person loses and that they end up losing love to their big brother.

00:07:34: That

00:07:34: is very different story which is highly critical Of this system!

00:07:38: In some degree opposite method because I'm the minority And seeing these aspects of film are little bit more tritical.

00:07:49: There's finally a film that shows we have to be tough with these young criminals.

00:07:52: And in the end, they will thank us if really putting our kids out!

00:07:57: In a neoconservative era and I think you're very aware both Germany and Poland everywhere that conservatism reactionism and autocracy are proliferating These ideas of violent rehabilitation and violent punishment are embraced.

00:08:12: It is not as provocative As one might think it would be provocative for people from working at underclass like me because we experienced this middle-class aggression on a daily basis.

00:08:21: So it's not so pleasant to see it celebrated in film and sit among an audience that also celebrates it, but the majority of people... This film is very comforting!

00:08:29: Because they're like finally

00:08:32: somebody who says like it is.

00:08:34: I See this.

00:08:34: i have no control over The moment.

00:08:37: the film is you know released to the public.

00:08:40: Sometimes I'm very surprised by the reception of the film.

00:08:48: your control ends with the last cut.

00:08:50: And you're hoping that people will get it, like get what you wanted but at the same time if someone gets it differently You have nothing to do with this unfortunately Like you have everything to do because you provoke them think about so there is a certain responsibility But also there's also a responsibility of something that is uncontrollable.

00:09:11: So as director you just give people A B but people come up with C D Like, they continue your thought and you start the sentence but always a person who watches this film ends it.

00:09:25: I provoke people to restart an alphabet that is way about away from my comfort zone!

00:09:44: this film is meta.

00:09:46: that was the big from the very beginning.

00:09:49: it shows two different types of aggression and violence.

00:09:53: It's kind of like me watching to people fighting on the street.

00:09:56: I'm not with any radio like or any of them, i just watch them...I would never absolutely embrace what Chris is doing And What This Crazy You Know Family Is Doing?

00:10:06: And I Would Never Embrace What Tommy Is Doing As A Hooligan.

00:10:09: And Toxic Masculinity Of Course But There'S Also Toxic Feminity Because Catherine Takes Hold the house and she's also manipulative, so they're all in a way toxic.

00:10:20: I would say your approach is the healthiest to reject this film!

00:10:30: And there own self-moral compass.

00:10:46: That is enough for you to be a viewer of Good Boy.

00:10:50: and if you embrace that this film Is very ninety eight percent different from You the two percent reveal A certain truth about you.

00:10:58: so This film I treat this Film as an olitmus test And i did it with The Hater too.

00:11:02: my other films these Films are being shot From a Very Distant Place, from Myself Tommy from the beginning, I you know it's good that Chris maybe he was using a too much force on him and Maybe It Was Too Violent but it worked.

00:11:23: And then i love to see people totally Decomposed in A way like oh of course is not real.

00:11:29: You Know chris doesn't exist there From The seventies and sixties.

00:11:33: even tiktok Is seen On This television set so its Not Real.

00:11:37: obviously it's In Tommy's head and That's True.

00:11:40: Also Thats How We Developed As A Fairytale.

00:11:43: that never happened.

00:11:44: And then I started to work on those characters, make them real.

00:11:47: nobody knows of them.

00:11:48: You also have some amazing cast?

00:11:50: How did you get Angela Rice-Borough and how was working with this great cast Also Enson Boone who gives an amazing performance!

00:11:58: I was happy to hear from them even before a little bit for the film because many actors and actresses watched my Corpus Christiwine Even Before My Suicide Room That i came to Germany With in for Berlinale.

00:12:13: Actors and actresses, they watch a lot of films.

00:12:15: They reach out to me or through my agents just say hey I like your film if you have any product we would like work with on it.

00:12:23: So Steven did read Good Boy.

00:12:26: His agent told him that there's this film And is by Jan Komasa.

00:12:30: And Steven said oh the guy from Purpose Christi?

00:12:33: Yeah he was same guy.

00:12:35: He says i'm in It!

00:12:36: I wanna work With Him.

00:12:37: so he said yes before he read The Script and he was like, all right.

00:12:42: Okay if Yanukah Masa wants to make it then Jeremy Thomas since Jesus Kolemoski is involved they see something in it And He trusted us just the way I trusted Jesus Kolenmosky when he reached out to me.

00:12:54: So there's a chain of trust.

00:12:55: but we were away from moral comfort zone When We Were Making This Film.

00:13:00: The

00:13:00: film has been compared to Kubrick especially chocolate orange.

00:13:04: Where does some certain inspiration?

00:13:06: One

00:13:06: Of the first books that They gave Tommy Was.

00:13:09: Lockwork Orange was the first book they gave him and Jeremy Thomas, the producer told us well we shouldn't impose on the viewer The interpretation of the film by giving so direct hints.

00:13:21: So he got rid of Clockwork Orange.

00:13:23: I watched clockwork orange probably ten years ago?

00:13:26: So i didn't want to go back to it...I haven't read the book though maybe its definitely different in this book but..i havent watched a movie.

00:13:33: i didnt wanted it influence me.

00:13:35: same thing with Parasite, i dont wanna watch Parasites.

00:13:37: Parasit has class division.

00:13:39: that's why.

00:13:40: But I never tried to explore it.

00:13:42: I didn't want to be inspired in the wrong way.

00:13:45: My problem is that probably if i see something,I repeat So we were conscious of those works of art but I did not wanna impose them on the viewer too much.

00:13:58: so they are all the time People kept talking about It's still a different place than it was originally.

00:14:10: Both,

00:14:11: I hope my next film will be Polish.

00:14:15: Actually i did those two films in English because it was easier for me to make a film and english.

00:14:21: politically It wasn't as easy to do films in Poland over the last couple of years For many reasons also economic reasons from my cinema In Poland.

00:14:30: polish cinema became much more commercialized And much more safe to make a film that is international and difficult.

00:14:42: I would love to make films in other languages too, i treat films like traveling...I have also German projects in mind as well

00:14:51: then we will certainly looking out for them.

00:14:54: thank

00:14:54: you so much.