Netflix made the first such film in Poland. People write: “It allowed me to open up more”

“Fanfic” moved me a lot and I think that every viewer has a chance to find something important here. This is a film made for Netflix, inspired by Natalia Osińska’s novel about a transgender boy, directed by Marta Karwowska – she is also a co-writer of the production. The main character of Fanfika is Tosia, perceived by her peers as an outsider. Her way of escaping from the world in which she feels lost is to write online stories – fanfictions. When a new student, Leon, appears at school, Tośka begins to develop previously unknown skills. feelings. As he discovers himself and his true identity, he begins to understand that he is a boy, Tośek. The main role is played by Alin Szewczyk, who is an acting revelation for me, and he is perfectly partnered by Jan Cieciara. On the occasion of the premiere of the production on May 17, I was able to talk to them about working on this project.

Marta Korycka: I like the fact that in “Fanfik” stars known from a million other productions do not play. For you, Alin, is this the first role at all? How did you find out about the auditions and what prompted you to give it a try?

Alin Szewczyk: This is my first main role, but also the first after coming out, because before that I played an episodic role in Jakimowski’s “Once Upon a Time in November” – I was on the screen maybe 3 minutes in total. I learned about the casting for “Fanfik” from the Internet. The ad was sent to me by friends, saying that I fit all the criteria listed there and that I am blond (laughs).

You, Janek, also came to the casting. Did you have any test shots together or did you meet for the first time on set?

A.S.: Yes, we did and it was super sweet, Janek brought a sweater or a sweatshirt …

Jan Cieciara: sweatshirt. I don’t think it’s a spoiler that there is a scene in the film where we are cycling through the city – it’s already cold and dark, and Leon gives Tosiek a sweatshirt … I came to rehearsals in a sweatshirt and – although I didn’t plan it – I gave it to him. A bit also to relieve stress, because when I gave him something of my own, Tosiek suddenly became less of a stranger, more of his own.

Did you know the book before? Did you know what you were getting into?

A.S.: I didn’t read the book until last month. I knew what it was about and I knew what the movie was going to be about. I decided that I would not read it during the shooting, so as not to create images other than what we want to work out with Janek and Marta [Karwowską – reżyserką i współscenarzystką – red.]as well as with Dobromir [Dymeckim, gra ojca Tośka – red] and with the rest of the cast.

JC: I haven’t read it yet either, but my girlfriend has, so she’ll probably be able to tell the difference as soon as we put on the movie to watch together. I think it might be something new for her too. Marta told us at the beginning of filming that we should not read the novel at least until the end of the recordings, because some of the threads are changed there, and although most of them are taken from the book, it is rather an inspiration, not a basis for adapting this material into a film.

How did you create these characters that were on paper, in the script, and suddenly they had to be inside you and you had to be them?

A.S.: For several months we met with Janek and Marta to discuss the script, we adapted some scenes and discussed the more difficult ones. We also worked with Kaya Kołodziejczyk, who is a choreographer and deals with body movement. I put a lot of my own things into this character, but I also had to get a lot out of myself beyond what I really am, and Janek…

JC: I had to be very restrained! Of course, we have common features with Leon, but, for example, unlike Leon, I am quite expressive by nature, so during rehearsals or improvisations, Marta would tell me: “Stop waving your arms like that, boy.” So especially when I had to play a scene with emotion, bang, act more intensely, and I couldn’t raise my arms or make a face, it required a lot of effort from me.

You mentioned the choreographer, this movement, and I think it is also very visible on the screen afterwards. There is, for example, a lovely scene when you play with your hands while lying at Leon’s.

A. Sz.: For this scene, maybe we didn’t even work on the gestures themselves, because that’s what we were really good at from the beginning. We put a lot of work into the moments when Tosiek and Leon get closer emotionally and discover each other, become close to each other. We also needed to get to know each other better. So it wasn’t sudden that something was happening there, but we were slowly building this chemistry.

You smile when you talk about this movie. And me too, when I think about it, I have a smile on my face all the time, even though there are also difficult topics discussed there. However, I have the impression that it was not difficult for you to play this relationship, it came out very naturally.

JC: Due to the fact that the deadline for the filming shifted, we met more or less once every three weeks for several months. So we had time to get to know each other better. That’s why I have the impression that in most of the scenes you can see our private contact and that’s what Martha really wanted. Of course, in the case of close-up scenes, let’s say romance scenes, there were also elements of choreography. If you mean our kiss, it wasn’t like we were like, “Okay, now you’re kissing and we’re recording, go.” Earlier, we agreed, for example, to contact for three seconds, turn the head and again three seconds of contact. It is also a choreographic and improvisation element, so Kaya Kołodziejczyk worked with us here as well. I felt so guided that even those slightly heavy scenes came out as if we were playing them without getting into any difficult emotions.

A.S.: In general, the institution of an intimacy coordinator is a very necessary thing. We had such a person on the set, or even two, because Kaya and the intimacy coordinator Aleksandra Lemba worked together, and that was what allowed us to approach these types of scenes with more ease. We were not afraid of any mishaps, because everything was discussed, there was agreement on everything.

In this film, on the one hand, we have some youthful peer relationships, but on the other hand, there is also a parent-child relationship. What do you think is the best thing a parent can do when someone decides to tell them they’re transgender, to come out?

A.S.: I think it’s definitely not ignoring the kid, like Leon’s parents in the film. For me, for example, the relationship between Tośek and his father Marcin is completely understandable. Not that I like this kind of paternity absence, but I know how it works because a lot of my friends and I have hard-working parents. I understand that it’s hard to be there for your baby at all times and it’s hard to read all the signals. Today I read in the context of support for transgender people that it is essential to start respecting the chosen name of this person and their pronouns. And this is already a step towards acceptance, because then getting used to the situation is a whole process. You can’t expect everyone to be a transgender parent right away. I think that respecting the child’s subjectivity could manifest itself in the fact that this name and these pronouns are simply respected, because it means: “Hey, I see you and I want you well.”

JC: I think that the best thing that any parent can do in general is to be attentive to the child – what he is like, what he wants to be and help him go in the direction he has chosen for himself. This, of course, requires commitment and some distance to yourself and your beliefs, but that’s probably it.

Your director said that she wanted to create a world in “Fanfic” where you can feel good and safe, a bit in opposition to what we can face in reality. From your point of view, will this story go to your peers, because from my point of view, as a mother, it can go to my parents.

A.S.: It seems to me that me and a bunch of my closest friends are already a little further in this whole conversation. What I would like people to get is just a little of that warmth and take away all that darkness – not to tell people it’s great, but just to show a different perspective as well. That we don’t always have to look at things with such a doomer attitude. Already people are talking to me, they see that I am active and that I am open with my gender identity, that I am just trying to accept such a more positive narrative. And they say: “I need it, it allowed me to get used to the things that are happening to me” or “It allowed me to open up more”. It seems to me that in this film a person of all ages can find something for themselves, it is not just a production for teenagers. Maybe for parents it can be inspiring to some extent, but everyone, without divisions, can certainly count on getting a little smile and warmth, because it is primarily a story about growing up and about relationships.

JC: There are several themes here – both love and teenage, which, while we were working on it, I had such a pleasant return to high school. I went back to the times when there was little planning, no serious thinking about the future, maybe apart from studies, so all the time that wasn’t spent studying for some tests was spent together. I was wondering how this aspect would come out in the movie and I’m very happy with the result – within the fanfiction class, even if there are some nastiness and differences of opinion, in the end we all go through this stage together and deep down we all like each other.

I have a feeling that it shows that it’s really just that growing up is hard. And everyone will find themselves or their friend in this class.

A.S.: Or in all of them, because they are quite archetypal characters. It’s obvious that this is a fantasy about reality, not reality, but I think you can totally find someone in this film with whom you can identify to some extent.

What do you think will happen after the premiere?

JC: I don’t have any mission or any special expectations. For me, the coolest part of all this is a bit of a surprise – what will happen after.

A.S.: I don’t know what the reception of “Fanfic” will be, because we can’t predict it at all and I don’t know what element people will focus on. This is the first Polish film in which a transgender person plays a transgender character and I just wish there were more films like this. I hope it will bring some warmth, some kind of courage to talk about yourself, maybe some cultural discussion on this subject – cultural in the civilized sense.

*Doomer – a character from a popular series of internet memes, used to illustrate the experiences and attitudes with which a large part of the generation of young people identifies. To put it simply, it is a combination of elements such as lack of prospects or plans for the future, inability to fulfill life ambitions, social alienation, depressive episodes, susceptibility to addictions, high reflexivity and sensitivity, which lead to the use of cynicism, nihilism or sarcasm as defense mechanisms – editor’s note. red.

Doomer