A shy vampire, a suicidal man accidentally condemned to immortality, and a mortal who loves life - in other words, ‘Life for Beginners’. The debut feature film by Paweł Podolski, mgr, a highly regarded teaching staff member at the Audiovisual Production Department of the Institute of Cultural Studies at the University of Gdańsk, won the Polish Feature Film Competition at the international Mastercard Off Camera 2025 festival in Krakow. The international jury appreciated the freshness and sense of humour in the interpretation of the genre and the emotional richness of the work.

‘The idea for the film came from a simple thought: if people sometimes behave like monsters, can monsters behave like people? What does it even mean to be a monster? These (somewhat humorous) considerations prompted me and my co-writer Lynn Kucharczyk to work on the idea. We wanted to create an intimate story about how even the worst moments in life can have a bright side - sometimes it's just hard for us to see it,’ said director Paweł Podolski. ‘We presented the idea to the wonderful producers Ania Wered and Alicja Gancarz, and then things moved very quickly. About a year after our first conversation, the film was finished.’

Paweł Podolski combines his artistic career as a director, screenwriter and actor with his role as an academic lecturer. He points out that this can be difficult to organise due to conflicting university schedules and work on set, but goodwill on both sides allows him to reconcile these two worlds.

‘Sometimes I have to apologise to my students and reschedule classes because rehearsals or production meetings are mandatory for a director and sometimes clash with the class schedule. The film industry has its own rules, and it is located in Warsaw. Fortunately, I meet people who are really supportive on both sides,’ says P. Podolski. ‘Producers are very respectful of my university duties, and we usually manage to work out a compromise. However, there is a certain advantage to all this confusion: because I am a working filmmaker, the knowledge I share with my students is up to date and backed by practical experience. I sometimes get some good energy from the students. I hope that there is a kind of feedback loop. I try to explain the basics of the director's craft to them, while they inspire me with their questions and often surprise me with their ingenuity.’

Paweł Podolski - director, screenwriter, graduate of the Gdynia Film School and the University of Gdańsk. Member of the Polish Filmmakers Association. Winner of the Script Pro screenplay competition. His feature debut, ‘Życie dla początkujących’ (‘Life for Beginners’), is just starting its festival run.