Cineuropa chatted with Polish director Maciej Kawalski, whose first feature, Dangerous Men [+lee también:
entrevista: Maciej Kawalski
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Q&A: Pawel Pawlikowski
ficha de la película]’s Tomasz Kot as Tadeusz Żeleński. Last but not least, the main cast also includes Marcin Dorociński, who has just announced that he will be starring alongside Tom Cruise in the upcoming instalment of Mission: Impossible.

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Cineuropa: Your film is light-hearted and funny, as if it were meant to be a literature lesson for kids who think that this subject is boring and prefer to go out partying. How did the story originate?
Maciej Kawalski: I wanted to make a movie that would inspire people to discover, or rediscover, these artists anew. Most people remember their names from school exams or know them from street signs – it's such a pity! The body of work left behind by these people is a literal treasure trove. There are so many fascinating stories that are relevant to this day. The same goes for their private lives, which were much more adventurous and dramatic than what is taught at school. That being said, my primary motive was to make a riveting movie – one people would enjoy, find inspiring or simply have a great time watching. If it could also be a vehicle to bring these artists back into the public eye, even better. They're worth it.

One of the main protagonists, Żeleński, is an MD but wants to be an artist. I heard that the same goes for you. Do you want to “cure” people with laughter?
I happen to hold a Doctor of Medicine diploma, just as Żeleński did. The funny thing is that I had been utterly blind to this similarity between us until a script doctor pointed it out three years into writing. It had been staring me in the face all these years, but I failed to see it. The subconscious is a fascinating realm. And yes, I believe in the healing power of cinema and laughter. Both can help us process things and make our lives brighter.

Films with multiple protagonists and jokes often fail to have an engaging story. How did you work on the script to avoid that pitfall?
It was a long process of writing, rewriting, script-doctoring and “killing my darlings” to make the story airtight. It took me four years and three major rewrites – almost page-one rewrites – to nail it. The driving principle was to make all of the various elements support the change in the main characters. That was a way for me to ensure all of the story cogs and wheels were a working mechanism and not just unconnected adornments.

All of the leading roles are played by Polish actors who are experienced in performing in comedies, but each of them has a different style as a comedian. How did you work with them so that the film would be consistent?
All of them are fantastic actors, so the process of helping them fine-tune their performances was a joy in itself. The crucial thing for us was a long rehearsal period, during which we could explore and test-drive various approaches to the story, the genre and the acting itself. A turning point was a week-long rehearsal on location, in costumes and with the camera, which we had a month before principal photography started. It all came to life then. As for the casting, I was writing the script with Tomasz Kot and Marcin Dorociński in mind, and I have admired Andrzej Seweryn and Wojciech Mecwaldowski for years. The film sports so many terrific performances by its ensemble cast, thanks to the input of a phenomenal casting director, Nadia Lebik.

In Poland, Zakopane, where the story takes place, is synonymous with a place that’s very cheap and touristy, but also with a very nice local culture and craft scene. How did you manage to show a different “face” of this city?
Zakopane in the 1920s was akin to the Polish Paris of the era – where you had all of the most significant artists, writers, explorers and free thinkers of the time flocking to the same few pubs and influencing one another. The result, both in Paris and Zakopane, was an explosion of creativity that continues to move and inspire people over 100 years later. Researching these people's memoirs, letters and journals was a treat. It would have been a thrilling read, even if I hadn't been making a movie!

Your film has a bigger budget than most first features in Poland. It’s a bigger production in terms of its scale, too. How did you convince your producers to work with you?
The primary factor was the script itself – it resonated with the actors, producers and decision makers. Had this not been the case, there would have been no movie; it's as simple as that. But even with a good script, it took years and years to set the wheels in motion. The project went through a screenwriting scholarship programme at the Polish Film Institute, then through a development one, and finally, it got a production grant. All in all, it took six years to accomplish. The fact that I had a major TV series and several acclaimed shorts under my belt also helped.