When a young bacteriologist witnesses a car accident, she becomes entangled in the life of a deceased, which triggers the suppressed loss of her unborn child.

Interview with Writer/Director Ewa Wikieł

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Thank you! The inspiration for the story of Krzyk - Losing Control was a scream I heard on a highway while passing by a car accident. That scream stayed deeply in my mind. Together with the screenwriter Halina Rasinski, we wrote a story in which our main character is triggered by a scream and therefore confronted with her own loss. Only when she is ready to face it, she does find the strength to grieve and to let go of her past.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

I would like to take you on a sleepless ride with the main character through all her emotional states. I strongly believe that cinema has the power to connect people not only on the intellectual but above all on an emotional level and reflect in them their own fears, dreams and desires. The great inspiration for us was the cinema of Lynch and Kieslowski. Seemingly so far apart, yet they have been reflected in the visual language of the film.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

I wanted to bring to life a topic that is still not spoken about openly. "A miscarriage or stillbirth is a loss that most, women have to endure alone and in secret with a sense of failure" as Sharon Stone put it in 2022. It is such an important subject, yet so incredibly fragile and painful.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

Already in the writing process and pre-production phase, we were intensively dealing with the theme of loss and tried to portray life and death in every scene. I wanted to dive into the darkness of the human soul - exactly where it hurts and where you don't want to look. Together with cinematographer Konstantin Minnich, we tried to create a world in which it becomes difficult to distinguish reality from a dream. It was important for me to tell exactly what was hidden under the surface and to find images of the unspoken words.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

The first confrontation with the audience was a very special and touching moment. For me as a director, sharing the film is the most rewarding part. No matter in which part of the world we showed the film, in Berlin at Achtung Berlin or in Austin at SXSW we received very good feedback. Many women (and men) opened up after the screening and told us how they felt connected to the main character and how thankful they were for the film.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

What touched me a lot was that people of different generations and backgrounds approached us and wanted to share their own experiences and stories. Scream and its absence resonated with them from beginning to end. In that moment I realized how important is not to be silent about a subject that seemed to be taboo in the public eye for such a long time.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

We would love to reach a wider audience and share the film with as many people as possible.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

We are still searching for distributors, buyers and film festival directors to be able to bring our film to the cinema.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I would like the audience of our film to confront their own life and be open to talking about subjects that matter to them, which they had never spoken before.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Is there someone or something you are grieving about right now?

Would you like to add anything else?

We are looking forward to seeing our film in cinemas all over the world.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Right now I am working on my second feature film, My Personal Jesus and cinematographer Konstantin Minnich will be shooting by the end of the year his next feature film in Colombia.

Interview: May 2024

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

Krzyk - Losing Control

When a young bacteriologist witnesses a car accident, she becomes entangled in the life of a deceased, which triggers the suppressed loss of her unborn child.

Length: 1:21:00

Director: Ewa Wikieł

Producer: Ibrahim-Utku Erdogan

Writer: Halina Rasinski

About the writer, director and producer:

EWA WIKIEŁ was born on 16.10.1989 in Warsaw. Before directing studies at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin, she was a guest student at Michael Haneke's directing class at the Vienna Film Academy. In 2012, she attended directing workshops with Jane Campion at the Berlinale. In 2016, she received a directing fellowship at Columbia University. In 2018, she participated in the Berlinale Talents and Script Station. Her films were screened in competitions at festivals in France, Poland, Germany, Croatia, Italy, Portugal, Thailand, Argentina, and Ecuador. Krzyk-Losing Control is her first long feature film. She is currently working on her second feature film My Personal Jesus.

HALINA RASINSKI studied theatre studies and German language and literature, worked in theatre in film before having two children, studying screenwriting, writing various short films, co-writing feature films and currently writing a young adult novel.

IBRAHIM-UTKU ERDOGAN believes in the magic of films and cinema. As a producer, he tries to set free all the possibilities to create a new world and enhance given situations.

Key cast: Gina Henkel (Lena), Anton Weil (Jakob),Wiktoria Gorodecka(Vera),Natalia Mateo(Nina),Noah Szendel(Antek)

Looking for: distributors, film festival directors, buyers, journalists

Instagram: @krzyk-film

Hashtags used: #krzyk #losing control

Other: IMDb

Funders: RBB, Medienboard (Leuchtstoff)

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

Polish Debute Film/Koszalin-10-15.06