HOW TO DO IT

It’s all a question of perspective. Just as the opinions of a novel’s firstperson narrator should not be confused with those of its author, so we are entitled to shift our point of view without being accused of lying. Piotr Tymochowicz is a master of the art of turning words round, of cosmetically enhancing, of agitating. The “spin” is what it comes down to – and that is the art he wants to teach a group of young people recruited via TV then screened for several days at an assessment centre. His goal is to prime them for big-time politics. In the course of lengthy training sessions they make speeches, organize demonstrations, proclaim a “creative revolution”. His strategy appears to be successful, but his pupils’ initial enthusiasm dwindles as their charismatic instructor’s glaring lack of scruples becomes evident. Tymochowicz couldn’t care less what they think; he is obsessed with the idea of efficiently crafting leadership material. One determined pupil – the sole member of the group who vows he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals – perseveres until the game turns into real life. Director Marcel Łoziński’s quick cuts and keen observations allow us to witness the making of a populist – and a frighteningly unswerving political career. Reassuringly, most of the youngsters display healthy resistance to the lures of power and control over the masses. But let even one individual succumb to the temptation, and the potential for great misfortune is born. German premiere.