My Story

From the beginnings to the present

Below you can see my story from the moment when I decided to become a filmmaker.

October 19, 2022
Time for a big step
This chapter is currently being written...
August 6, 2022
Job for IPN
Making films about WWII opened another door for me. And it's 6 years afer the premiere of "Oblitus. In may 2022 a representative of Institute of National Remebrance (PL: IPN) contacted me with a job proposition. They wanted me to produce a music video about Augustów Roundup. After discussing the details I refreshed contact with reenactors, put together a film crew and got to the work. We were shooting for 2 days in Warsaw and Pszczyna. Music video for the Maciej Ciesielski's song "Testament" premiered on the 2nd of November on YouTube.
August 15, 2021
I've got an idea!
People always say "Read a lot of books!". I read. I read quite a lot. I read books, e-books, magazines from my industry and there are a lot of information, inspiration and ideas going through my head. One day, the 15th of August 2021 to be exact, an idea for a film was born. I have not been thinking about it at all, there was not a single moment when I thought to myself "Hej, you need to make a film!" or "Let's think about script about this". Nothing like this. I was lying on a couch, reading a book and "Bang!" - idea for a script. Idea generated by my subconsciousness while I was doing something else. Idea on a subject I've been passionate about since childhood. Idea that no one has ever make a film about. Now it's time to get real.
January 1, 2021
Personal growth
I started the year 2021 with new resolutions which I still use. They are very important habits that help me grow in every area of life. I'm not gonna throw some empty life coach frases about personal growth. Simply, I've learnt that I cannot make progress in only one area, I have to endeavor to be more complete, to eliminate the risk of bottleneck effect. Example? So what that someone is a great actor if they easily get nervous? Our industry requires us to be in constant persuit of new skills, both hard and soft ones. For me time has come to learn how to succeed in business.
June 14, 2020
YouTube struggle
At the beginning of 2020 I came up with an idea of creating an automotive channel on YouTube. For the last few years I've met a lot of people from that industry so it was pretty easy to find ideas for videos. I proposed a collab to my friend from "Bielskie Drogi" office who helped me promote the channel via his vast range in social media. Unfortunatelly, the world of YouTube is very particular and my way of making polished videos in professional conditions doesn't fit. It's a place where quantity and regularity is more important than quality. Algorithm was ruthless for us and the channel has never grown big. However, I don't regret and still, as a hobby, shoot some videos for Petrol Heat.
May 1, 2019
Clash with reality
In just few months I had to rearrange my services a bit and started with my friend a brand providing wedding photography and videography services. We used our experienced from film sets and commercial work to stand out on the marker so getting clients became frankly simple. Weddings were easy and fast money, we had better gear and postproduction workflow than our competitors and we added some tricks and techniques from big film productions into wedding films which was warmly received by the couples. It was a bit of a trap. After a while I realised that I'm doing the same thing over and over again, that I'm going backwards with my career, I'm surrounded by drunk wedding guests, I'm creating everything with the same pattern and in very limited conditions that I have no influence on. That's not for me. We did that for three years and getting out of this industry gave me a huge relief.
August 15, 2018
Last short film?
I've done few more road safety campaigns, this time without any controversies, but my name was still on the media which helped me promote my brand and get clients. I haven't forgot about my ultimate goal of becoming a film director. My fourth short film "Wish" was supposed to be a sci-fi thriller set in the near, dystopian future where killing people within certain rules is legal and even profitable. I produced the movie with my on money and the shooting went well, despite the fact I've written the script in English. Unfortunatelly, when the postproduction started I lost a VFX artist and I needed someone new. It came toghether with some big changes in my life so the project was undone for over three years... I've got back to it in February 2022 and finished it within a month. I was pleased with the final effect and submitted "Wish" to some festivals.
November 1, 2017
Interesting collaboration
...in collaboration with me through a news website "Bielskie Drogi". I had to direct a road safety campaign. The film was about wearing reflective elements on the clothes at night. I wrote the script under the supervision from the police and the editor in chief of "Bielskie Drogi". In main roles we casted kids which was a completely new challenge for me. The campaign aired 1st of the November 2017 and yet again I had to face negative comments, this time from the enemies of wearing reflective clothes. I taught me that I as an author, have to take all the critisism on me. It doesn't matter that I make a film for someone with a script prepared under their supervision. It doesn't matter that the police took my side in their official statement. It was a valuable lesson of humility.
August 17, 2017
First commercial
Sticking with the military theme, me and my crew of soldiers made a 5-minute commercial for G&G Armament from Taiwan - a producer of airsoft guns. The star of the commercial was an actress, Ilona Borkiewicz, with whom I work on a regular basis on various projects.
In the meantime I started working on a commercial for a device called ReDrive, made by a company FSS from Bielsko-Biała. The commercial was supposed to be controversial and once it was released we've got flooded with comments from indignant people of Bielsko-Biała who thought the stunts performed by the drivers were real. Well, that's a great compliment for a filmmaker. Few days after a premiere I got a phone call with the information that the police is interested...
April 16, 2016
First professional production
After having experience with two short films, I realized it was time for something more. Once again, I brought together reenactors and together we prepared a script for the film "Oblitus: Rise of the Forgotten" telling the story of Polish-origin soldiers in the United States Army. For this production, I wanted to use professional film equipment provided by Cinerental from Krakow, as well as real pyrotechnics, historical vehicles, and solid scenery. I built a small film crew consisting of sound engineers, operators, a production manager, and three assistants. The only question was where to get the money for all of this? Here, crowdfunding helped, and thanks to promotion in both local and national media, we were able to collect the necessary amount and produce the film according to plan. "Oblitus" was shown on Polish and foreign festivals and received several awards, and at the same time opened many new doors for me.
October 31, 2015
First serious setback
After the premiere of "The War is not Lost," I continued my work and immediately began working on another film. The production of "Triumph of Death" was supposed to be free of problematic elements, thanks to the lessons learned from the previous film. The film was going to be much shorter (it ultimately lasts 17 minutes), no computer effects (only a bit of green screen and gun blasts), fewer people, fewer locations, and only one main thread. Simple? Not necessarily. The film was shot in a ruined, abandoned building. During the filming of one of the scenes, we used a smoke machine. Part of the smoke escaped through a broken window. Someone saw it and called the emergency services, saying that the entire building was on fire. Due to the huge area of the ruin, adequate forces were deployed. Eight fire crews and several patrol cars arrived. The road in the nearby village was closed to residents, and all the people on the set were evacuated by firefighters. Luckily, it only ended with nerves and moving the rest of the shots to a different location, where we had to rely on CGI. And that's all from that limitation of effects...
August 3, 2014
First narrative film
After making "Brestskaya Krepost", I came up with the idea to involve the historical reenactors I met during that project in a fictional project. These people have a tendency to engage in such projects, after all, it's the essence of their passion. Expanding my contacts in the paramilitary environment, I came across the ASG group. My idea evolved - remembering the movie "Final countdown" with Kirk Douglas, I decided to make a science fiction film about time travel, in which modern soldiers are forced to fight against the Wehrmacht.
This project was a real school, not only film, but also a school of life. The problems I faced had their own problems. And all of this rested solely on my shoulders. I wrote the script, directed, shot, edited, did special effects, and even sound and color grading - I learned all of this through tutorials on YouTube, and then just put it into practice. But the most difficult element was working with people, because I engaged dozens of people in the project, and getting everyone to work together was a daunting task. As if that wasn't enough, I decided to write the script in English. During the filming of the movie, I remembered my visit to the psychological clinic, when I came out laughing after hearing the question about directing. And now, please, three years have passed and I'm on the set of my first feature film! Just the thought "man, it's scientifically proven that you're made for this" helped me survive the 10 months "fight for the film". When it was all over, I organized the premiere of the 45-minute feature film "The War is not Lost" at the Studio Filmów Rysunkowych in Bielsko-Biała. However, it would not have been possible without the involvement of fantastic people who simply wanted to make this project with me.
April 13, 2014
First time directing
After publishing "Leogangsters", Karol Koch, a musician, contacted me and offered me cooperation on his music videos. Together we made three clips, the first two were shot in a recording studio, so they did not pose a great challenge. That came with the idea for the third music video called "Brestskaya Krepost", which according to Karol's plan, was supposed to be an acting music video. The entire production was based on the script that I prepared together with Karol and that I filmed with the help of friends who played the different roles. For the first time, I had to give actors' instructions while working on the camera (or specifically, the DSLR camera).
Given that the music that Karol creates is very niche, the music video did not reach a wider audience. Looking back, I think it's good that it happened that way, because when I look at it now, I wonder what was wrong with my eyes. What's important is that I managed to get my first directorial experience, and also that during the production of this music video, I met interesting people involved in historical reenactment.
August 23, 2013
First adventure
A year and a half later, I had already gone through one of the toughest periods in my life, when I had to fight with my mother to be able to follow my own path. We reached some kind of compromise. I went to law school and she helped me financially so that I could pursue my passion. I bought a DSLR camera, borrowed some equipment from friends, and started filming short videos related to martial arts. A few months later, the first job came - a wedding film. I stepped up to the task (although now when I look back at that "work", it makes me cringe) and the groom at the time offered me a trip to Austria, where on the route of the MTB World Cup in Leogang, I had to make a short film about that discipline. This way, I was given the chance to show something really spectacular (for my small abilities). A week in a picturesque alpine town with four athletes brought a lot of impressive footage and thus my first sports short "Leogangsters" was created, which opened the door to more projects.
January 31, 2012
First film
In short, I was in the third grade of high school and preparing for my final exams. The winter holidays were approaching and my homeroom teacher noticed that I had a lot of unexcused absences (I had taken a fairly liberal approach to attending classes for subjects that I wasn't taking for the final exam). I was given an ultimatum: participate in a school-organized competition for a promotional film, or my conduct grade would be lowered.
So, I turned to YouTube, found a tutorial, downloaded a free video editing program. I filmed everything I could with my phone, all the school events, lessons, parties, and then put it all together, adding a chapter about the school's history. All of this was accompanied by stock music and animated templates that I found on the Internet. I won the competition and the film was used as a school advertisement for several years. But that wasn't the most important thing. It was the moment when I realized what I really wanted to do with my life. The worst moment I could have imagined...
April 11, 2011
First mention about directing
On the first year of highschool we've been given an opportunity to visit a psychologist specializing in job competences. Great for young people, who don't know yet what they want to do in the future. But not for me, I already knew for a long time, that I'm going to be a lawyer. However, I got persuaded and went to the clinic. The psychologist was testing me for about three hours and told me that law is a pretty good idea for me, but then she added "Have you ever thought about being a film director?". I laughed, said "good bye", left the clinic and completely forgot about the visit...