Filmoteka Muzeum

A Game by Adam Janisch – the youngest representative of the famous “Kowalnia” (Prof. Grzegorz Kowalski’s workshop at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw) and graduate of the feature film programme at Andrzej Wajda Master School of Directing – is a record of the situation arranged by Artur Żmijewski at the plein air in Dłużewo in 2008. The eponymous game is played out between the group of “Poles”, comprising students of Warsaw’s Academy, and “Germans” – artists living in Berlin (among them Żmijewski). Like in many other games at Kowalnia, the only rule is that communication be non-verbal. Żmijewski creates a situation which unleashes aggression, war allusions and gestures, sense of threat and enslavement among the participants. The game lasts for five days and consists of eight sessions. However, the discomfort of some participants leads to its untimely end. Janisch taps into the method of simultaneous projection of three takes and presents the situation from various points of view. Thus, he modifies perspectives and time lapses, which may equally well disturb the viewer’s perception as enrich it.
 

(KA)