Piotr Szczepański: ‘When shooting the film about EC1, I will record not only the transformation of people and places, but also the change of myself.’

Interview with Piotr Szczepański, a cameraman and director, graduate of the Faculty of Cinematography in the Leon Schiller Polish National Film, Television and Theater School in Łódź, the author of such films as Generacja C.K.O.D (Cool Kids of Death Generation) telling the story of the famous local rock band or Aleja gówniarzy (Absolute Beginner). In 2008, he set up a long-term project with a working title Łódź 2009 – ∞. As a part of it, he observes and records how the idea of building the New Center of Łódź is being realised. The result is supposed to be the film, whose title refers to the famous collection of pictures by Roman Opałka, Opałka 1965 /1 – ∞. The movie is co-funded by the City of Łódź and produced by Anagram Film. In the interview with EC1 Dziennik Kolejowy, the director explains when the idea of making the movie about the New Center of Łódź emerged and what he thinks about the changes that are going to take place in the city.

When did you discover the EC1 heat and power plant?

It was in 1997 that I went to EC1 for the first time. As a third year student, I wanted to shoot a short film in the interiors referring to the atmosphere of Chicago in the 1920’s. I checked every corner in different factories and backyards, and this is how I ended up in the EC1 for the first time. I saw that Targowa Street ends where the railway track runs and I could notice the plant’s façade on the left. I got the permission to explore the area from the school and I went there. At that time, the western part of the factory was still used. I went inside, too, and I was really enchanted.
For the second time, I was there in 1999 when making documentation for Jan Jakub Kolski, the owner of the Kolski & Partners advertising agency, who meant to send it to the organisers of Camerimage. The festival was moving from Toruń to Łódź then, and the plant was supposed to serve as the festival center. Then, I made a video clip for the song Armia Zbawienia performed by Cool Kids of Death with Krzysztof Ostrowski. In 2006, Andrzej Walczak told me there was a plan of EC1 revitalization, so I immediately said I wanted to make a film about it. Back then, it seemed unbelievable, but you only had to wait for the right moment to come.

What did you like the most about EC1?

Most of all, the incredible atmosphere. I was interested in the industrial architecture; in my fourth year, I made my degree project – a film set in the scenery which looked as if it had been taken from The Metropolis by Fritz Lang. I spent a lot of time in such places, strolling around the Uniontex factories, for instance. I have always been fascinated by EC1’s switch-room. Very often I dropped in to EC1 saying I was from the film school, even though I was no longer a student. I didn’t go there to take pictures, but simply to stroll around, drink in the atmosphere and find out some new ideas. We also need to remember that when you arrive in Łódź from Warsaw, you always see this intriguing building. As a child, I lived for a few years in France, and that’s why EC1 West with all its pipes and scaffoldings outside has always made me think of Centre Pomipdou.

In your film, Aleja Gówniarzy (Absolute Beginner), there were many bitter words about Łódź. Do you like Łódź or not?

Łódź has always been based on certain mediocrity, temporariness. The city was built quickly in order to earn some money. Very few people attached weight to beauty and solidity. This city has been falling apart for many years. The people who came to live here were not integrated with the city, they came to work. They arrived with some hopes that finally got betrayed and died. This city is decaying not only in the strictly physical sense, but also in terms of its mentality – regrettably, this is what statistics show. What I like about the city is the minority, meaning those who wish to create and change something, having at the same time a great energy to do it. I’ve observed the city for four years and I think everything is heading in the right direction.

Don’t you think about moving out anyway?

Definitely not from Łódź; I’m sure I couldn’t live anywhere else in Poland. If I were to move out somewhere, it would have to be a faraway place. When I was in my twenties, I had no chance of working in my field in the West. In France, artists form a very hermetic group, and I have never had an ambition to go to America. I would have had to go to the film school with the intention of trying to find a job in Hollywood right after graduation.

Have you planned to film the project of building the New Center of Łódź from the very beginning?

Yes. The shooting of Generacja C.K.O.D (Cool Kids of Death Generation) took two years. It was nice because I was doing it along with shooting commercials, which is my job. I went to make a commercial and then I came back to something that had a certain continuation. It was a good plan for life because I felt I do something important. Now it’s a similar story. After Generacja, I was thinking about making the next film, something which would take a few years; I had some ideas but I didn’t accomplish them. I’m not going to say which ones exactly I mean, because someone may realise them instead of me. I assume that the EC1 project will take more or less 10 years. I think I’ll tell not only about the EC1, but also about the modernization of the railway station, the New Center of Łódź, and I think the movie will be finished when the first 30ha of the new center appear. I believe in that, it must happen and surely it will. Time will show what they will do with the rest of the area.

Once you said you regretted that the so-called ‘white spots’ were disappearing from the map of Łódź. The New Center is going to alter the area of 90 hectares – it will be a radical change. Are you happy or worried?

The white spots disappearing, it’s always sad. These are magical places, connected with the history of not only my city but also my own. I mean the places where I used to go ten or twelve years ago. It was fascinating that such extraordinary places can be found in the city center. As soon as all of this is developed, this magic will disappear, but on the other hand, there will appear something else. It is connected with the changes in our lives. In 10 years time, fifteen-year-olds will come to the city center not knowing what it looked before. They will not think about what is lost, but what they’ve gained. I may feel sad but I think this is the way the world goes.

What is your idea for the film?

I want to tell about this architectural and infrastructural event through the people who are not involved in it or who live nearby. I want to concentrate on the change of the man over time with the architecture as its background rather than on the construction itself. What I am shooting right now is only the basis. When you build a big building, its foundations are very wide. I construct various elements which seemingly have nothing in common, but then start to match one another. What is this film going to look like? Well, it will turn out in a year or two when the construction starts and the people I have contact with start to function in the background. I’ve figured I’d observe someone who is directly involved in construction works, a person for whom it will be his/her job, consuming a part of his everyday life. For the time being, I haven’t found such a person. I recorded 16 hours of the material this year; I edited 25 minutes out of which only 3 will be shown in the film. I do things which look more like meditation rather than shooting a film. In ten years, I’ll have edited about 6 hours of material. What am I going to do with it? Should I make a TV series or publish it on the Internet. I have no idea what kind of distribution will be popular in 10 years. I am doing something thinking about the form popular today; the output will have the form which will be popular tomorrow. It is very interesting, especially when I think I will be someone else then. What I am recording is not only the transformation of people and places, but also the change of myself.

It will be something more than a simple chronicle of the project, then…

The transformation of the city is an excuse for showing time passing. I guess it’s the most important thing you can show in a documentary. It is supposed to be a record of time. Whatever you shoot, it’s going to be valuable in ten years. Someone will be curious to see what kind of clothes people wore, how they spoke and who they were.

What kind of inspiration is in this case Roman Opałka and his artistic project Opałka 1965 /1 – ∞, showing the flow of time? Is the title only an allusion or maybe you want to create a timeless film?

It’s not about making a work of your life, it’s a reference to Opałka and that what he did – something which is infinite. We don’t know when his cycle is going to come to an end. Łódź 2009 – ∞ is a working title and its final version is yet unknown. Opałka has always got me fascinated; his intriguing pictures are something that he’s left in different parts of the world. We already know that the Museum of Art in Łódź will possess the last picture by Opałka. But which one will it be? Will we be able to see anything in it? We still don’t know. This coincides with the situation I am documenting. This title means that ‘I still don’t know’ rather than ‘that it is supposed to be the work of my life.’

How do you imagine the future of Łódź and the end of the movie?

I dream about finding a protagonist who’d be 8 years old now and will be an adult when the film is done. I will then tell about his change from a child into an adult. I hope that Łódź is waiting for such a change too, a change from the city on the side-track into a city which is in the centre of attention.

The people living nearby EC1 interested in participating in the movie are kindly asked for a contact with the director. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or tel. 0603 219 093.