Latałło Marcin

Our Street
Our Street takes place in Lodz, Poland, a city ruined after the downfall of comunism. The old and the new Europe meet here. Right beneath the windows of a working-class family that has been living here for five generations a French company is building the biggest commercial & leisure center in Eastern Europe, inside the ruins of the factory that once made this city The Promised Land, one of the richest in Europe. What influence will it have upon the lives of these people? Both the factory and the houses where the family lives were built in the 19th century in the same characteristic red brick. Lodz was one of the Europe's richest cities. Created by Polish, Jewish and German factory owners, it was the heart of the textile industry which continued during the times of comunism. However, after the downfall of comunism, the factories were closed down and went to rack and ruin. Now Lodz has the highest level of unemployement of all Poland's big cities. Most of the supermarkets and commercial centres are situated near the city center. Now the Manufaktura shall cover 28 hectares in great proximity of the city's main street – Piotrkowska St. What influence will it have upon the city's economic development and upon the lives of these people? The Famuloki are oficially considered historical sites so they cannot be torn down. But what shall happen to their inhabitants? What interests people most is… people. Hence, 'Our Street' is a film about simple people witnessing the changes in the nowadays Europe. It is a film about their everyday struggle against the system that offers a paradise which is out of their reach; about a struggle to keep their dignity and find their way in the surrounding reality. Through Furmanczyk family we can see 'the world in a drop of water'. Is there hope for the young generation in the capitalist world? Are the values like human being and dignity lost in the modern world? Are they replaced with success, profit, money?

Constellations
Family constellations is the name for a therapy carried out by a world-wide known psychiatrist Bert Hellinger. Some people say it is a real discovery in psychiatry, the others, that it is just a deception. The documentary „Constellations" is not going to access it. It shows a real history of two people who are looking for a solution of their problems in Hellinger's method. Does it work? Before we are able to answer it, we are going to get to know better people shown in documentary: their lives, families, friends and problems. Afterwards, we will participate in Hellinger's session and see patients after treatment.

Our Street. Cinema Version
For over three years the author of the film has accompanied a poor family from Łódź living opposite the former textile factories. They worked there for generations. After the fall of communism they watched a slow collapse of the plant. Today they are witness to another civilizational change: Manufaktura, which is the biggest shopping and entertainment centre in this part of Europe, is being built in place of the factories. How will the Furmańczyk family fit into this new landscape?

The Other Side of the Poster
This film is about one of the most important graphic movements of the XXth Century: the Polish Poster School. It became a phenomena world-wide in the 1960-70’s. Polish posters expressed the freedom of their creators in the communist times. The posters, present in everyday life and linked to the cultural and historical events, also tell the story of post-war Poland, of censorship in the communist times. Now that Poland has integrated into the European Union, dominated by mass entertainment and the market laws, is there still a place for the heritage of the post-communist countries in the contemporary culture?

Director and cinematographer Marcin Latałło was born in Poland (1967), raised in France, where he studied directing at La fémis (National Film School). He attended a cinematography course at the Lodz Film School. Son of Stanisław Latałło, about whom he made his first documentary, A Trace (Honorary Mention at the IFF Krakow in 1996) and a book, The Unfinished Portrait. He collaborated with Andrzej Wajda, Agnieszka Holland and Krzysztof Kieślowski (for whom he translated the screenplays and dialogues of the Three Colors into French). He directed two short films: Night’s Kiss and The First Time. He directed the documentaries Constellations for Polish TV, Another Gaze for the Caravane des 10 mots and Our Street for ARTE France. He is preparing two documentaries: Ginczanka, Three Journeys, and Behind the Poster. Also working on the screenplay for his first feature film: A Sailor’s Tale and on an experiment on the borders of feature film, documentary and theater: A New Dream. Founded his production company Camera Obscura.