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.