Rapper Łona makes his directorial debut. "This film was created in the minds of Szczecin"

Making this film, I realized how much of a collective work it is. It might not be a revelation, but it's something new for me. Until now, I've worked in areas where more depends on me, and the text is the whole story," Adam "Łona" Zieliński, a rapper from Szczecin who has just made his directorial debut, told PAP Life. He directed the short film "Monday: Paprotka."

PAP Life: You're a rapper, songwriter, music producer, lawyer, and copyright specialist. You recently made your directorial debut. Your short film "Monday: Paprotka" premiered at the New Horizons Festival in Wrocław. What prompted you to pursue directing?

Adam "Łona" Zieliński: Let me explain first – I'm not a music producer. So let's at least trim this long litany of activities a bit, so it doesn't seem like I'm throwing myself at everything. Nevertheless – I directed this film and had a significant hand in its creation. It's not something that was born yesterday. This picture is the result of a long process that my friend Adam Barwiński and I began in 2016, nine years ago. We simply spent a lot of time in completely casual, carefree, yet incredibly creative conversations. I could talk at length about the whole idea, which was intended to be a portrait of people our age, caught here and now, in this reality and in this particular city, Szczecin.

PAP Life: Have you thought about the plot?

AZ: We were thinking about an anthology of seven short fictional miniatures, each of which would also be a self-contained story. So far, we've only managed one-seventh of that, but we're not giving up yet.

PAP Life: The protagonist of this miniature is a lawyer who answers a call from a client in his car, stumbling into the middle of a dispute between two small business owners. The matter seems trivial at first, but the conflict begins to escalate rapidly. You're known as the rapper Łona, but you still practice law. Did the story you portray in the film actually happen?

AZ: Yes and no, because the plot of this short is a patchwork of various legal stories that happened to me and my lawyer friends. This work can be very interesting – clients come to us with various problems, often accompanied by strong emotions. Often, that's what we're there for – to cool other people's passions. And sometimes it's far more important to listen to the client than to help them.

PAP Life: While the film's protagonist wants to defuse the conflict, he's constantly calculating how much he'll earn. Don't you think you're perpetuating the stereotype of a lawyer who only cares about money?

AZ: Wait a minute, it's not just about the money; he wants to make some money along the way—it seems like a win-win situation to him at first (all parties benefit – ed.). Besides, there are two sides at war within him: one with a flair for accounting, who has Excel in his head, and the other—flesh and blood, who has her own emotions. This human aspect is incredibly important to me.

PAP Life: The entire film takes place while driving. It reminds me a bit of "Wild Tales." Was that a conscious inspiration?

AZ: In "Paprotka," you can find traces not only of Damián Szifrón's "Wild Tales," but also—with all proportions maintained—Spielberg's "Duel on the Road" or the Tom Hardy film "Locke." I'm aware of this, and I'm not even particularly ashamed of these associations. Perhaps a small novelty is the juridical thread that ties it all together, this whole legal road movie.

PAP Life: "Paprotka" takes place on the streets of Szczecin. We see the city from the windows of the car the protagonist is driving. Szczecin is your hometown, where you still live and create. Is it a nice place to live?

AZ: Cool. My attachment to Szczecin is obvious; I was born here, my mother was born here too, and my grandfather, Teodor Dziabas, came here in '45. I finished my studies and apprenticeship in Szczecin, and I work here every day—both in my "civilian" profession and in the creative field. It's possible to do both, although Szczecin isn't the easiest place to live. This city has its problems—for example, the fact that probably more than half of my friends from my generation have moved somewhere in Poland or abroad. But it's a wonderful and very inspiring place.

PAP Life: You never wanted to leave there?

AZ: Never permanently. I really enjoy traveling around Poland; I visit our interior a few times a month. I used to look at some cities with envy. Wrocław, for example, has always been somewhat similar to Szczecin, but for many years I looked at it as a brother who had more success in life. Now Szczecin has a chance to catch up. Unfortunately, the truth is that those who come to our city always do so for a reason. It's not a place you stumble upon by chance. And we struggle to attract creative people—it does happen, but on too small a scale. Although Szczecin is captivating and worth portraying on screen, we have a shortage of film representations of the city. A notable exception is "The Thaw" (an HBO Max series premiering in 2022 – ed.). It's a genre piece, but it has excellent cinematography. Szczecin is intriguingly menacing and Scandinavian noir-like. But one of the drawbacks of the creators of "Odmyśla" is their casual approach to the city's topography. Especially in the first series, almost nothing fits together. In "Paprotka," we did the opposite, carefully capturing the geographical nuances of the protagonist's journey; he follows a route that every Szczecin resident can identify with. Because we do indeed have picturesque roundabouts in the city center.

PAP Life: I'm not surprised you've been named Szczecin's honorary ambassador. You truly are a local patriot.

AZ: Absolutely. Especially when I see what's invisible from the outside, like the community of wonderful, creative people I'm lucky enough to meet. The official premiere of "Paprotka" will take place at a Szczecin cinema, but we're planning to hold the second, less official part at the Freedom Gallery. It's an off-the-wall venue that brings together artists from the worlds of painting and street art, with an emphasis on graffiti. Szczecin has made a significant contribution to the history of Polish graffiti. "Paprotka" was created by Szczecin artists and is almost entirely made by Szczecin hands. I met Dawid Dziarkowski, who plays the patron, by seeing his Instagram account. I thought he'd be good in the role, and then I learned that Dawid is from Szczecin and graduated from the 5th Secondary School, which I also graduated from, so the matter was essentially settled.

PAP Life: What did you learn while making this film?

AZ: I realized how collaborative this work is. It might not be a revelation, but it was something new for me. Until now, I've worked in areas where more depends on me, and the text is the whole story. It's different in film. I was very lucky because I worked with Michał Bączyński, Piotr Gołdych, and Ewelina Marcinkowska from the Kinomotiv studio, who really knew what they were doing – both in terms of cinematography and production. Dawid Dziarkowski is not only a great actor, he's also incredibly intelligent, and this trait of his helped me a lot. Furthermore, this film looks the way it does thanks to the caring hands of Nikodem Chabior, who extracted the absolute maximum from the material during editing. I was generally lucky with the people on this project. I can safely say that I was the weakest link in the chain.

PAP Life: Łukasz "LUC" Rostkowski recently said he's quitting rap and focusing on composing film music. LUC is your age and thinks he's too old to rap, because the younger generation has its own language. Do you sometimes think you're too old to rap?

AZ: I think I'm quite young and at the right age for all possible activities. When it comes to rap, I'd like to remind you that it's actually difficult to find any role models, as hip-hop itself is barely a fifty-year-old phenomenon. If we point to Snoop Dogg as a senior role model, then God forbid we all become such cheerful retirees. There's definitely something in cinema that rap lacks. Does that mean I'm abandoning the song as a genre? Or more importantly, does that mean I'm looking for a new audience? No, because my audience is very precisely defined. He's 43, lives in a medium-sized urban center, has a "normal" job, but doesn't shy away from creative endeavors. And his name is Adam Zieliński. Because I'm my own most important audience, and my opinion interests me most. And that's not selfishness at all, more of a necessity—I only do things I lack. Altman once said he'd never seen a good movie in his life, at most half a good one. I'm not reaching for Altman to compare myself to. The point is, no one can make a film the way you want it, one that resonates with you. It's the same with a song, or any piece of music, really. This whole groping for something that resonates with that one person in the world—you—is, in my opinion, the very foundation of creativity.

PAP Life: Your latest album, "Taxi," was released at the end of 2023, and you received a number of awards for it. What's next for your rap career?

AZ: Everything's fine. I'm working on new things. I won't say anything more, because projects tend to develop in silence.

PAP Life: Do you perform a lot?

AZ: Quite a lot. And in various places: clubs, festivals, cultural centers. I have a lot of material to compare.

PAP Life: Your rap career began 25 years ago. You've been a lawyer for a shorter period, but also a long time. Do music and law occupy two distinct spaces in your life, or do they intertwine in some way?

AZ: I try to maintain a sense of separation. This shifting between one world and the other requires a certain amount of gymnastics. But I've gotten used to it, and I don't really remember any other way of being. I've never wanted to give up anything. I really enjoy both worlds—the legal one and the rap one.

PAP Life: Maybe functioning in two such different worlds helps you maintain balance?

AZ: There's definitely something to it, because one reality is a panacea for another. When the legal world gets too much, I can take my little faces to a concert and find respite there. And on the other hand, when you play a concert and are under the influence of very strong endorphins, normal "civilian" work is beneficial for the psyche. And although it's not the easiest thing to reconcile on a daily basis, because sometimes I finish work somewhere backstage before soundcheck, I wouldn't trade it for anything. (PAP Life)

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