Director Filip Jan Rymsza: “When you show something like this to the audience, you expect them to feel uncomfortable and implicitly strange”

Director Filip Jan Rymsza: “When you show something like this to the audience, you expect them to feel uncomfortable and implicitly strange”

Yesterday, Mosquito State was screened at TIFF, directed by Polish Filip Jan Rymsza. The film explores the adventures of Wall Street analyst Richard Boca, as he becomes obsessed with more and more chaotic details that come into his life. The winner of Bisato d’or at the 77th Venice Film Festival is running today, 21.06. at TIFF from 4PM at the Military circle. The AperiTIFF editorial team met yesterday with the young director present at the festival to find out more about the controversial production.

Mosquito State presents an unusual and unexpected topic. How did you think about something like this?

I was looking for a story that could revolve around a location. I was interested in creating something outside of a traditional or conventional genre, and during that time, my friend Mario, who is also a co-writer, had an episode of mosquitoes that invaded his apartment in LA. He told me about it and I said, “there’s a story in that.” And that's where we got to work.

The film has already premiered at the Venice Film Festival. How was it greeted? What do you expect from the TIFF audience?

I think it's a pretty general thing. Everyone except experts in the study of mosquitoes has an aversion to them. This idea of being attacked by a lot of mosquitoes seems very visceral to me. Expectations and reactions are universal. Venice was wonderful. It was that edition of the COVID period, so very competitive. The jury also gave us an image award and I was super happy.

I have noticed that many people, both critical and public, have said that the film is strange (certainly not in a negative way). Was that a premeditated intention?

Make it weird? No! Unusual? That's for certain. It's about the story itself. When you present something like this to your audience, you expect them to feel uncomfortable and, implicitly, weird. It's about the character, the situation they're in, and then the visual aspects and how they can exploit them in a unique way. I wanted to do something immersive, in which sound and image were themselves a journey.

How do you feel at TIFF, what do you think about the atmosphere of the festival?

It's great. I like festivals that take place in university cities. You can feel a specific vitality, an enthusiasm, an energy. I also like the architecture of the city. I walk around the streets and I see signs from the festival everywhere, and it's great to see an entire city celebrating. I love that.

interview by Micuța Andrei and Emanuela Susanu