Discussion with the President of the European Film Academy, Agnieszka Holland

ABSTRACT

This article transcribes an interview with the President of the European Film Academy, film director and scriptwriter Agnieszka Holland. It traces the filmmaker’s journey from her early filmmaking career and the potential influence of acting as a global citizen. Agnieszka Holland studied directing at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague. She began her career as an assistant director to Krzysztof Zanussi and Andrzej Wajda as her mentor. In 1977, Agnieszka Holland made her co-directing debut with ‘Screen Tests.’ In 1978, Holland wrote her first screenplay for Wajda, ‘Without Anaesthesia.’ Her solo feature directing debut started with ‘Provincial Actors,’ which won the International Critics Prize at Cannes Film Festival (1980). Since then, she has directed over 30 films, won numerous awards, including the Golden Globe and Silver Bear Berlinale. Agnieszka Holland was nominated for a BAFTA and Emmy, while her films ‘Angry Harvest’ (1985), ‘Europa Europa’ (1990), and ‘In Darkness’ (2011) were nominated for an Academy Award. The emotional impact and foresight of these films have earned her international fame. Throughout her career, Holland’s vision of cinematography and the way reality is depicted influenced the further history of cinema.

KEYWORDS:

• Contemporary
• cinematography
• filmmaker
• culture
• art
• Europe

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Alexander Woodman

Alexander Woodman is a PhD candidate at School of Health and Society, University of Salford, Manchester, U.K. The corresponding author holds M. Sci. of Social Science from the University of Southern California (USC), M.P.H. of Cal State University, and B.A., (Honours) University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Currently, Alexander Woodman is Head of Scientific Research Unit, Vice Deanship of Postgraduate Studies and Research, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia. His research interests include global health, international health policy development, transnational and transcultural health politics, medical ethics, epidemiology, social sciences and life span human development – gerontology.