Although the film “Johnny” was Daniel Jaroszek’s feature debut, it was very warmly received by the audience. Production about Fr. Janie Kaczkowski became the second most watched film of 2022 in Polish cinemas, and later took the whole world by storm thanks to being available on Netflix.
Now the young director returns with another film in which the topic of addiction will be explored even more deeply. “Team AA” will tell the story of four anonymous alcoholics, played by a multitude of Polish actors. The main roles will include: Danuta Stenka, Łukasz Simlat and Magdalena Cielecka.
“Team AA” is a new film from the creators of “Johnny”. What will the upcoming production present?
The most important characters of the film are four cross-addicted anonymous alcoholics – Leszek (Michał Żurawski), Wiola (Danuta Stenka), Dominik (Mikołaj Kubacki) and Karolina (Maria Sobocińska). In order to save their therapeutic center, they undertake to smuggle two tankers of spirit across Poland. For their own safety, they kidnap their therapist on the trip.
However, the journey turns out to be more dangerous than they expected, because following them – or rather the illegal alcohol they are transporting – is also followed by a Customs Officer (Magdalena Cielecka), who is not entirely who she says she is. From then on, everything gets complicated. Will the “special tasks” support group manage to complete the mission without succumbing to weakness or interrupting therapy?
‘The AA Team’ is a story about mutual support, thanks to which you can overcome your own weaknesses. And also about how important good goals in life are for this victory. But no one said it would be easy – especially when temptation is so close… – we read in the press release.
His first film also dealt with the topic of addiction. Why did Daniel Jaroszek tackle this problem for the second time?
In August, when work on the set of “Team AA” was still in high gear, we managed to talk, among others, with the film’s director, Daniel Jaroszek. In response to the first question, in which we asked him about the feeling of “pressure of the second film”, he admitted that he was aware of the success of “Johnny”, which surprised him a bit in 2022.
This is no secret. I talked to my therapist about how to enter this film without this baggage. And it is true that once it has started, we absolutely do not think about what happened. We also had a golden rule that we don’t talk about the movie ‘Johnny’ in our employment office. This is something that is behind us. We start from scratch. (…) – admitted the director.
Later in the conversation, he admitted that he took the issue of alcoholism very seriously, and he attempted to make such a film, in part through “Johnny.” – I decided that if I managed to make a film once that talks about a very difficult problem in a very delicate way, reaching a large group of recipients, why not try to make it again? – Jaroszek said.
In turn, when asked about the possible trivialization of the topic of alcoholism in the film, he said that it was a challenge. He said that it was not his intention to create a production in which alcoholics would be ridiculed because he himself was aware of this serious problem:
We took it into consideration. Indeed, part of this film goes heavily into comedy, but I have the distinct impression that at some point we change its narrative and emotional state 180 degrees. Not only the actors on set, but also the viewer. I believe that thanks to this, this film will gain universality and we will not have problems with making fun of alcoholics, because that is absolutely not our goal – he added.
Moreover, the director revealed that although part of the film’s action will take place in a picturesquely located therapeutic center, “Team AA” can definitely be described as a road movie, thanks to which it will be possible to understand the characters’ stories even better.
The authors of the script are Jacek Wasilewski, Tomasz Kwaśniewski, and its producer is Robert Kijak. The film is another Next Film’s own production, but it is produced in cooperation with Amazon Prime Video. Moreover, the project is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, and the cinema premiere will take place in autumn 2024.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
