“Kowalsky” by Émile V. Schlesser
Once a wealthy family, the Kowalsky’s fortune is gradually falling apart. When the only son comes begging his widowed mother for help, an ugly row escalates between the two – that forces both of them to absurd choices and cruel deeds.
From The Director
You might call “Kowalsky” an exercice de style. The impulse wasto explore a certain flavor, a specific visual language. I wanted to play with style, textures and moods, and mash together a juicy blend of genres. Setting up a completely artificial, staged and theatrical world, I wanted to gradually tear the facades down. I used to work as a cartoonist for newspapers as a teenager, so I have a thing for dark humor. At the same time, that Hitchcockian orchestrated approach to suspense is something that excites me. It felt like the appropriate way to depict this darkly twisted yet wacky world.
The story and characters come from a very personal place. Most of what happens in the film is rooted in my own life, my family, people near and dear to me, and actual tragi-comic occurrences. I know these characters and their situations very well. Until recently, that’s what I thought they were – caricatures of relatives. But as it turns out, they’re all me.
In retrospect, Irealize I had to poke fun of my demons here, in a way. It’s actually about the anxieties I was going through at the time. It’s an exorcism of self-doubt and fear of failure. For a long time, I had such high expectations of myself that it became paralyzing. Nothing I did was good enough, and my self-criticism could get really mean at times. I could feel my ego wanting, needing perfection – but all it engendered was a constant feeling of inaptitude. I think many people can relate to that.
I must have been too much of a coward to confront these fears head-on, so it had to happen in a playful manner. It’s like an absurd cathartic nightmare where deep-rooted problems bubble up as characters, symbols, and metaphors. It sounds pretentious, but it’s almost Jungian. It’s about moving out of that toxic relationship with one’s own critic, that rotting house we sometimes live in.
CREDITS
Written, Directed, Edited & Composed By Émile V. Schlesser
@kowalsky_film / @emilevschlesser
Website: http://emilevschlesser.com/
Produced By Fabien Colas
Supported By Filmfund Luxembourg
Starring:
Josiane Peiffer
Raoul Schlechter
Tatiana Santos
Shayan Mehrafza
Nilton Martins
Daniel Halici
Darlene Santos
Raphael Goncalves De Sousa
Production Manager: Karoline Maes
1st Ad: Yannis Meys
2nd Ad: Linda Blaschette
Location Manager: Fabien Colas
Director Of Photography: Vitalijus Kiselius
Ac: Tommy Hardt
Gaffer: Jo Gutenkauf
Electrician: Victor Schmitt
Grip: Fabio Bottani
Colorist & Visual Effects: Émile V. Schlesser
Production Designer: Audrey Dhyvert
Art Director: Pauline Mangin
Costume Designer: Carmen Di Pinto
Wardrobe: Olga Olina
Hair & Make Up Designer: Emilie Franco
Stand By Props: Paco Parma
Painter: Olivier William
Construction: Mikail Ibili
Sound Enigineers: Arnaud Mellet, Alex Mellet
Boom Operator: Jacques Fischbach
Sound Post Production: Roll Studios
Sound Mixer: Mike Butcher
Casting: Nilton Martins
Camera, Light & Grip Rental: Arri Luxembourg, Jeff Kieffer, Vitalijus Kiselius
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