HBO Prepares 14 Film Anthologies on the Experience of Isolation

When humanity remains locked down, art knows no borders or limitations

At Home – 14 film stories in one HBO production – an anthology about the unexpected experience of isolation by 16 filmmakers.

What is HBO's \"At Home\" project?

14 stories. A time of lockdown and many restrictions. What does it mean to be an artist in a time of an epidemic? This project explores this question.

Invited by HBO Europe, the creators have been working on their films for three weeks, trying to capture the uniqueness of the moment. The result will be an anthology of 14 films, created under an artistic manifesto: the films must happen here and now, during the pandemic; they cannot last longer than 10 minutes; all must incorporate pandemic restrictions; artists must prepare the films independently within 4 weeks, with full freedom of form and genre.

HBO Europe At Home Jerzy Skolimowski

HBO Europe At Home Magnus von Horn

How creators describe isolation — HBO's At Home project

HBO Europe At Home Małgorzata Szumowska Michal Englert

For each of us, the situation caused by the coronavirus epidemic is like a call to the blackboard. We don't know how to respond to what we are experiencing; we can't evaluate it other than through the prism of momentary emotions that change as we go. To evaluate and draw conclusions, time and distance are certainly needed. Nevertheless, recording this state, recording presence in it—true, strong, vivid—seems exceptionally valuable. That's why we asked wonderful, creative people to attempt such a 'here and now' record, assuming that artists constitute images of events in collective memory, and thanks to them and their testimonies, we—the audience—can later relate, confront our own memories and experiences. When humanity is stuck in lockdown, art knows no borders or limitations. 'At Home' is conceived as a project created in artistic freedom, a creative description of the situation of restricted individual freedom. I hope it will also be a stimulating, moving story about human struggle with a state of transition, moving from a world whose structures we knew to a world in which we will have to verify them - says Iza Łopuch, head of production at HBO Poland.\n\nMore than ever, television and film connect people. Each film in the project will tell a strong, personal story based on shared experience. I am proud that we can create this project together, connecting creators in these challenging times and providing a space where they can both inspire viewers and entertain them before other production activities resume when it is safe – says Antony Root, EVP Programming and Production, HBO Europe. Poland is the second country after Spain where HBO Europe has invited creators to work together on an anthology of film stories dedicated to pandemic times.

Poland as the second country with the anthology

In the Polish HBO Europe project, participants include: Jacek Borcuch, Andrzej Dragan, Krzysztof Garbaczewski, Renata Gąsiorowska, Magnus von Horn, Paweł Łoziński, Jan P. Matuszyński, Tomek Popakul, Jerzy Skolimowski, Krzysztof Skonieczny, Małgorzata Szumowska / Michał Englert, Mariusz Treliński, Anna Zamecka / Sung Rae Cho, and Xawery Żuławski.

Directors on isolation and creation

The results of the creators' work will be available to watch in a few weeks on HBO and HBO GO in Poland, as well as in other European countries where HBO is available.

Directors on the project:

The communal experience of restricted human freedom on Earth. I have no idea how to draw that. But that's exactly what seems most exciting. Jacek Borcuch\n\nI like anxiety; I like constructing it and observing it. That's why creating something in this extraordinary time, when forced anxiety has become the experience of all humanity, seemed particularly interesting to me. Andrzej Dragan\n\n\"1.618 (Aporia)\" The gardener sees that Time is not linear, rather it unrealizes, making you resemble more and more a virtual snail carrying its spiral house on its back. Its proportion is a mathematical sequence, an algorithm of fear, and disgust is just a transitional state on the path to love. Will you love yourself, alone, at home? Krzysztof Garbaczewski\n\nMy film will be about how we are even more closed in our bubbles, even though we can communicate remotely in so many ways. About my relationship with media that I consume, specifically one streaming channel I watch constantly, and how I slowly turn into a pet. Renata Gąsiorowska\n\nThis project is a great opportunity to look at one's own feelings during lockdown, feelings that I believe many of us share. When we spend so much time alone and with our families, we are able to say something about everyone else. In some way, isolation can connect us. Magnus von Horn\n\nI have a balcony, so I am. I am among people. Today that's a privilege. I stand on it with a camera and talk with passersby about life. I want to find out how they feel in times of plague? Paweł Łoziński\n\nFor me, it's an opportunity to make perhaps the most inward-looking film. These are times when you can at most see for yourself what you have inside. I don't know what will come out of it. We'll see. Jan P. Matuszyński\n\nOn one hand apocalypse, on the other a day like any other. On some invisible layer, something strange pulsates; I'd like to show that invisible layer. Tomek Popakul\n\nThe virus caught me in Sicily, where I am preparing my new film. Thanks to it, I witnessed both Italian tragedy and Italian heroism. But also the splendor of Sicilian spring. Time stopped for a moment, but time also seems to have a different dimension here. With my film, I thank Sicily for its generous hospitality. Jerzy Skolimowski\n\nThe situation we are currently in reminds me of being in a desert. For me, it's a time of meeting oneself — filtering memory, rewinding home video tapes, recording autoseismic vibrations, staring at planes and divining from contrails. A state of suspension waiting for the frost of a desert storm or warm summer rain. The desert creates mirages and deconstructs illusions. Whenever I travel to its raw landscapes, it is a transgressive and enriching experience. Today the desert spills into our homes, and reality gets polypsy. Krzysztof Skonieczny\n\nFirst thought… limitation, also in the field of view. Sitting at home, we see only a narrow slice of reality; we would like to see more. Szumowska / Englert\n\nI was fascinated by the polyphony of artists. I don't remember a moment when we performed together. It's a great rarity in our country. We are born soloists, and suddenly here tutti voice. I don't believe one can consciously record time. That's why I attach less importance to the statements themselves. Tensions that arise between etudes, accidental references, associations will be key. To be honest, I don't yet know what it will be about. Speaking about oneself paralyzes. Mariusz Treliński\n\nThis film is an opportunity for us to do something together when we can't be together. Anna Zamecka and Sung Rae Cho\n\nLockdown - a moment of return to oneself - online everything becomes an illusion; what from reality is true today? Xawery Żuławski

Summary

HBO Europe invited sixteen Polish filmmakers to create the anthology 'At Home' – 14 short stories about isolation during the pandemic. The creators have full freedom of form and genre but must follow restrictions: films last up to 10 minutes, and their creation took 4 weeks. Participants include Jacek Borcuch, Małgorzata Szumowska, and Jerzy Skolimowski, who thanks Sicily for hospitality – the virus caught him there.

An interesting fact is that Poland is the second country after Spain where HBO Europe is realizing this initiative, and we will see the results in a few weeks.