Anna Kazejak

Born 1979, Bytom (Poland). She studiedat the National Film School in Łódź. From 2002 to 2004 she directed the short films FROM ABOVE (Z GÓRY), MY PLACE (MOJE MIEJSCE), WE ARE (JESTEŚMY), YOU ARE THERE (JESTEŚ TAM). In 2005 she and two of her friends from school (Jan Komasa and Maciej Migas) shot a three part film, ODE TO JOY (ODA DO RADOŚCI). In 2007 she made her graduation feature film, A FEW SIMPLE WORDS (KILKA PROSTYCH SŁÓW). In 2010 she shot her second feature film, FLYING PIGS (SKRZYDLATE ŚWINIE, 2010). She also directed some episodes of Polish version of the TV series IN TREATMENT.

Director’s statement

“Liliana is a 14-year-old, junior high student. Her boyfriend, Janek, is a year older than her. Misunderstood love and relative values in the world they live in, impel them to commit a heinous crime. She is the mastermind. He is the blunt tool that she uses to execute her plan. I see these two characters as representative of the new generation that possesses all the benefits of the Western world. They are free, without any historical or political burdens, but still, they use the freedom to create their own prisons. This concept is key to understanding the story in THE WORD”.
“When going over various court transcripts, we got some insight into human emotions and their complexity. This insight allowed us to create non-cliched characters who are not easily judged or categorized. Lila and Janek really love each other. However, they are not able to carry the burden of their own guilt, anger, and shared jealousy. They live in a world that gives them everything and does not demand anything in return. Perhaps that is the reason that they create a system of stringent rules; and the breaking of these rules demands a high price. Their uncompromising stance and conviction of their point of view is typical for their age group”.
“THE WORD is a film set in contemporary Poland. The story was inspired by real-life events that have been taking place in Poland and abroad. What happens in the story is not specific to the reality in Poland; a reality that has gone through a complete sea change during the last two decades. The abundance of obvious benefits comes with dangers previously foreign to us. The point is to look at our European culture, and the things that are crawling underneath our skin whose effect we see on the front pages every time a newspaper reports on gruesome teenage crime. In our era of relativism, it is hard to have a single all-around moral code – something that would be very helpful to an adolescent”.
“THE WORD is a raw film told in a naturalistic style, leaving nothing between us and the world. Here, truth is paramount. Placing the events in a very short time span will give a certain precision to the story. Considering the above, I am very happy to be working in concert with Danish producers. I consider the achievements of Danish cinema during the past years (i.e. Dogme ’95 and Lars von Trier) to be a great inspiration. Although my previous film was made in a different convention (i.e. formal academism), the realistic convention has always been close to my heart”.
“We have to tell this story because there is nothing simpler than to denounce evil, and nothing more difficult attempting to understand it”.