A Russian, an American and a Canadian share their experiences from studying in Polish schools. They describe their problems with language barriers and the differences in mentality. Look on Poland from the perspective of a foreigner.

Why Poland? What made you choose this country?

Michael Rabinovitz: The decision to study on the Camera Operation Department in the L. Schiller Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School L. in Łódź was not a completely crazy idea, because I had lived in Warsaw before. When I was 14, I moved there from Boston, Massachusetts with my mother and step father and I spent 4 years in American School in Warsaw (which still exists in Wilanów today). After finishing high school, I went to study mathematics and philosophy in Oxford, but I still used to come to Poland 3-4 times a year. After studies, I went back to New York, where while working in advertisement films production, I tried to find a way to live and to figure out what I would like to do. I became interested in cinematography, and I had heard about the film school in Łódź and how it is respected in the whole world before, and besides, I missed Europe. That is why I woke up one day and decided to apply for the Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School. I left Manhattan for Łódź. Most people think that this was crazy. Perhaps.

Jan Belina-Brzozowski: My parents are Poles, but since I was born, I have lived and studied in Quebec in Canada. I always have been interested in cinematography, and that is why before coming to Poland I graduated from film production on the Concordia University in Montreal. During my studies, I realised that I am dreaming of becoming camera operator and having an influence on the material side of a movie. Unfortunately, Canadian universities did not offer anything in this educational scope. I started looking for a similar offer in schools all over the world. I focused on three most interesting ones: American Film Institute in Los Angeles, National Film and Television School in London and The Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź. I chose Łódź, because the output of Polish filmmakers made a huge impression on me. I thought that there is no better way to learn the profession of my dreams than to study under the wing of film masters. I was not disappointed. The potential of this school is also based on the fact that it offers a completely different level of quality of the teaching method, so different from the one that I experienced during my previous studies in Canada.

Victoria Ogneva: In Russia, I graduated from the management department on Theatre Academy in Saint Petersburg and I thought that for my second studies I should go abroad. My colleague from a film set, who comes from Poland, was talking a lot about the changes happening in this country. He told me about Polish cinematography and about its reform (for example Polish Film Institute) and he recommended the famous film school in Łódź. I thought that I can learn a lot there. Knowing Russian and a little bit of Ukrainian and Polish, I counted on the fact that along with using English, I will not have to devote a year to learning Polish and that I will start my film education right away. I could not afford going to an English speaking school. Russia and Poland have much in common - in cultural and historical sense. The development of Poland as a democratic country is much quicker and effective than in Russia. Having similar problems after leaving the socialistic camp and no longer being dependent on the USSR, Poland is managing the reforms much better than my country, and it constitutes a good example for other countries of the former Soviet Union. I think that I will be able to make use of this knowledge also in my country someday. Going abroad became not only a possibility to learn the profession for me, but also a possibility to get to know new culture, to learn a new language and to meet new, interesting people.

How is a foreign student treated in Poland? Can he/she count on some leniency, or is he/she treated in the same way as the other students? And do lecturers adjust the language of classes to his/her needs?

V.O.: On the Film Arts Organisation Department, I was the first foreigner, so at the beginning no one really knew what they should do with me, what formalities I have to remember about and what kind of insurance I should have, etc. I spent a lot of time to make everything work. My interview was conducted in English, but I was aware of the fact that from October the classes will be only in Polish. Being treated equally with Polish students was the main condition presented to me after pronouncing the enrolment lists. I had to adjust to this situation. And indeed, during my studies I did not notice any leniency towards me caused by the fact that I am a foreigner. My presence did not change the attitude of the lecturers towards the language which they used during classes. I think though that I benefited a lot thanks to this, because I learned the language much faster.

J.B-B.: In a film school, every foreigner that does not know Polish has to spend one additional year on studying. It is the so-called "reception class", during which an intensive course of lecture language is conducted, and later it allows for a more unconstrained participation in classes. I learned Polish thanks to my mother. Unfortunately, despite participating in the classes offered by the "reception class", most of the students do not speak Polish. Thanks to new technologies, it is possible to make the communication easier through the use of dictionaries in mobile phones or on computers, even during lectures. In this way, during 5 years of studies, we improved our linguistic skills, up to the moment when our accent revealed our nationality. When it comes to communicating with lecturers, usually it depends on the person. Fortunately, we can always find someone who is willing to translate. The beginnings in a film school are difficult because we have to learn a lot of film business jargon, which is not usually taught during the introductory Polish classes. Foreigners are treated in the same way as Poles, there is no leniency.

M.R.: I have noticed that foreigners are treated in a positive way in Poland, possibly even better than native citizens. I was astonished by this, because Poles are great patriots, and at the same time they are very happy when they meet someone from a different part of the world. When it comes to communications, lecturers usually try to adjust the language to the needs of foreign students, this is where English seems to be the best choice. Joining two languages together, creating linguistic collages during classes usually is fun, but sometimes also a great challenge. Unfortunately, there are some negative sides of being a foreigner. I think that it is much more difficult for the students coming from Nigeria or Japan than for those from Great Britain or France. Such racial stereotypes are probably active in every country. Nevertheless, I often make myself think that living in Łódź is dangerous. This liberates a peculiar self-preservation instinct in me. The distance that I have for this city diminishes when I think about this wonderful international melting pot that gets concentrated in the film school. We spend a lot of time together. Everyone is helpful and oriented towards interaction. No one feels better than everyone else, no one poses as an artist. On the first year of studies, we established an artistic group called "Revival", which was created to promote international art and was supposed to be a forum for exchanging opinions and ideas. This was a sheer pleasure.

And how do you evaluate Polish teaching methods? Are they different from the ways of educating used in your country?

V.O.: The main difference is within the fact that the Bologna system is used in Poland. In Russia, studies are consolidated and last minimum 5 years. We finish high school one year earlier than in Poland. But as a matter of fact, the teaching methods are similar. The most important part of the teaching process is lectures. Unfortunately, it seems to me that the programme cannot keep up with changes and modern times. I encounter such situations in my department. Very often we learn things that we will never need in our professional lives, because they are no longer up-to-date, and lecturer omit the most important nuances of the present time, which would most certainly enrich our knowledge and make it possible to use in the future. I think that classes should be adjusted to the specificity of studies. During the course of education, there is too few hours planned for practical experience, which is essential for performing the profession of a production executive or a producer. Dry facts are not enough to find oneself on the market. I was lucky to obtain professional knowledge and skills during producing student etudes. I would like the Film Arts Organisation Department to start running similar activities and develop in this matter.

J.B-B.: Education in Poland is similar to what we have in Canada. Teaching methods are convergent. The only noticeable difference is the grading system. In Poland, gradation falls within the scale between 1 and 5, where 3 means pass. The French-Canadian system is based on percentage, where 60% means positive result. In my opinion, this system is much more measurable. When each task is converted to points and points to percentage, it is easier to compare oneself to other students and to understand why this particular grade was given. There is no such possibility in Poland. It is difficult to argument a good grade that was received by 10 other students at the same time. I don't know if the grading system is the same in every school in Poland, but the system based on percentages is for sure not used in the film school. There is an educational commission in Canada, which sends its representatives to audit classes and check the teachers' competences. In this way, the government controls the level of education and limits the time wasted on repeating material in other classes. Thanks to this, each class is different and teaches news skills and knowledge.

M.R.: Polish teaching methods are very much different from those practised in the USA or in Great Britain. In the USA, teachers much more care about their students that cause problems or have various talents. You can show them a film or a screenplay, and they will say: "It is fine. I understand what you are trying to show. This is your vision. I would not like to do anything that could discourage you from developing this idea". And in Poland we will hear these words uttered in a nonchalant tone: "This is terrible. You cannot produce this. You should do this and that". To do something, you have to be self-confident and defend your ideas - otherwise someone will impose their point of view on you. When people ask me about this school, I tell them: if you manage to make a movie in Łódź, you will make it everywhere. This is why I like Poland so much. Everyone can have their own opinion. In the USA, if someone asks you which flavour is better - vanilla or chocolate, you will answer: vanilla is nice, or: both are tasty, depending on the mood. In turn, in Poland the same question will cause the following reaction: "vanilla is the best flavour and if anyone thinks otherwise, then they must be crazy, let me tell you why...". I like it when people can plead their point of view.

Do you identify yourselves with Łódź - the city which you are currently studying in? And do the cultural differences constitute an obstacle for making new contacts for you? Did you encounter any problems in everyday communication?

M.R.: I would like to identify myself with Łódź, but to be honest, I can't. There are no alternatives for culture here, except for the culture originating in tower block estates. I demand more from the character of a city. I prefer Warsaw, London or New York. I was lucky to live in all of these places and this is probably why I cannot find myself in Łódź. Łódź is the third biggest city in Poland, in the case of city space it is very similar to Boston, the city in which I was born, but however, I could not live in neither of these cities. Taking historical conditions into account, I really came to Łódź by accident, because a film school was not supposed to be built in this city.  If I remember correctly, this decision was conditioned by the extensive devastation of Warsaw after the Second World War. Instead of erecting new buildings in the capital city, the ones that had been destroyed were reconstructed. Anyway, Łódź used to be different, definetely more open for cultural diversity, which was perfectly depicted by Wajda in "Promised Land". If this city still had such form, it would be possible for me to identify myself with it easily.

V.O.: At the beginning, I had some problems with communication because of my poor knowledge of Polish. To run everyday errands I had use a dictionary and write down some messages on little pieces of paper, which I used later when going to a shop or in a dean's office. Now I don't have problems with living and functioning in Łódź anymore. I like this city. It is extraordinary, because it joins the atmosphere of factories with artistic climate in an interesting way. When I was coming back to Łódź from my holidays in Petersburg, I felt like I was coming back home. In my case, cultural differences are not an issue, because they are practically unnoticeable. But I am still a foreigner here and sometimes I will surely be meeting people who will see me as someone from a different planet. I reconciled my self with the fact that something like this might happen.

J.B-B.: I would not like to think this way, but I would probably never identify myself with Łódź, independent of the fact what the city would offer to me. I came from a big, clean city and having to live and function in Łódź is a real struggle for me every day. I cannot believe in what I see. I always repeat to myself: my Canadian friends will think that I spent a fortune to receive such great apocalyptic decorations for my movie, because they will not believe that this is for real. On the other hand, I love this city, it is perfect for film school students. Urban space has amazing character, as well as artistic and cultural diversity. I will return here someday for sure. Perhaps just to get inspired. I know that cultural diversity usually constitutes a barrier for making contacts, but Poles are really interested in foreigners, which is very funny sometimes.

Did you consider the possibility of staying in Poland and continuing your development paths here?

J.B-B.: When I enrolled for this school 4 years ago, I was pretty sure that I will go back to Canada after finishing my studies. Today, however, when an interesting business offer appears, I do not see any problems that would prevent me from staying here. I will consider the possibility of leaving Poland in a personal context, because my girlfriend also comes from Canada, and if I return to Montreal someday, it will be because of her. At first I planned to graduate from the famous film school and go back to Canada, but in fact I really see myself as a European creator at heart. I believe that the development opportunities that I received thanks to my studies here, are priceless and I am grateful to Poland that it revealed its artistic sensibility and humanistic awareness to me. I will be delighted if I can stay here for the rest of my life and have the possibility to realise my dreams connected with film-making.

M.R.: I don't intend to stay in Poland, but the experience that I have gained during my studies surely will become useful in my professional life. Currently I act a lot outside Polish borders, but this is still thanks to the Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School. Together with Paweł Tarasiewicz (a student of Camera Operation Department), I went to Australia to make a documentary, but before I decided to go to another continent, I also went to Scotland to help Jan Belina-Brzozowski (a student of Camera Operation Department). These projects will help me to accent my creative personality even more in the future. While an average person met on street does not know anything about the film school, the people from the film business that I encounter during my work, are perfectly aware of the reputation that it has. Many of my colleagues from New York think that every talented film-maker with unusual name graduated from this school. Usually I do not correct them. There was a moment in which it seemed to me that I would stay here, but I think that I would miss my culture and language too much. The older I get, the more often I look for things, people and places that are similar to me. However, I have noticed that I have a tendency for thinking about places in which I am not currently in. Perhaps this longing will bring me back to Łódź again.

V.O.: I finish my studies this year and I cannot decide what to do next. I have learned a lot here. I would like to try to work a little in Poland and use my experience gained in the Polish school, but to be honest, it all depends on the fact if I will have a job here or not. And of course I intend to develop film co-productions of Russia and Poland.
 
 
Victoria Ogneva – student of Film Art Organisation on L. Schiller Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School L. in Łódź. She comes from Russia.
 
 
Jan Belina-Brzozowski – student of Camera Operation and Television Realisation Department on L. Schiller Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School L. in Łódź. He comes from Canada.
 
 
Michael Rabinovitz – student of Camera Operation and Television Realisation Department on L. Schiller Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School L. in Łódź. He comes from the USA.
 
 
 
 The interview with students from The Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School was conducted by Karina Forjasz (who also studies there).