MAGDALENA KORPAS

TALENTED POLISH ACTRESS SETS HER SIGHT ON INTERNATIONAL

 

 

 

 

Magdalena Korpas, born in Gdansk, Poland, is a film and stage actress (Sorbonne University, Studio Pygmalion School and the Compagnie Le Vélo Volé School directed by François Ha Van) based between Paris and London, with experience in Los Angeles. Her work has been screened at the Cannes Film Festival and shown internationally. She has acted in feature and short films as well as in commercials, music video clips and plays.

I noticed her unusual talent and charisma this year at the Film Festival in Warsaw when she presented her short film “Jalousie”. During our interview she talked about it with a true passion. Yes, Miss Korpas has potential to be a successful screenwriter and director. In 2012, she was the protagonist and co-director of “Soixante-dix” that was screened at the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival.

At the moment, in the UK, she is working hard on her new film „Constellations“, looking for a Polish and German co-production. She is certainly determined and she is multilingual (Polish, French, English) and will never give up. She has the character to get what she wants and win. As a professional actress she still dreams about working with Catherine Breillat, Malgorzata Szumowska, David Fincher, Derren Aronofsky and David Lynch.

 

You are film and theater actress. Did you dream as a child to become an actress? How did it happen ?

As a child I was fascinated by the physical and mental structure of a human. At first I wanted become a pathologist, my second choice was to become a psychologist and then, at the age of 13th, I decided that a perfect solution to express my need of inner-research of construction and creation would be acting.

At the moment you live in London, but also you have lived in Paris, Los Angeles and, of course, in your native country, Poland. Why are you constantly changing places of residence and do you feel that international experience has made you a better actress?

Those days changing places, cities, continents is a part of everyday life. I was born in Poland, growing up between Poland and Germany. I have spent 10 years in Paris, lived in Los Angeles and I’ve just moved to London. I’m there where creative projects are, where I can explore new inspiring environment, travel and expand my horizons and learn, broadening my experience. Acting methods and professional approaches are very different in all of these countries. Constant change make me more inspired.

How would you so far sum up your young career? What are you proud of and what else do you want to achieve in your profession?

I do not  like to sum things up. I’m proud of my latest project that was a stage play directed by Helene Darche based on Bergman’s film “Au seuil de la vie”. I was playing a young girl who is waiting for an abortion in a hospital. It’s her third abortion and she’s one of the first feminists from Sweden in the 50ties. It’s a very complicated psychological portrait but the more difficult the roles are the more satisfaction I get. I love the challenges of my professional life and everything in I do is a new challenge. I have a wish list of things to achieve in my profession but to name a few I would say: liberty of creation and choice of expression, inspire others and be inspired to make a change.

This year you debuted a short film, written and filmed by you, at the Film Festival in Warsaw. Were you happy with your work? What it was about? How was it received at the Festival?

My short film “Jalousie” it’s an experimental short drama based on a true story. It’s very hard for me to be fully satisfied with my work as I strive for perfection but, according to the audiences reaction and comments, the film was very appreciated and made an impact, which I am pleased about.

You performed in theaters, cinema, tv in different countries and in different languages. Had you have a lot of work on foreign pronunciation, diction? What foreign language do you feel more comfortable for you?

Yes, I did work and I am still working a lot on a pronunciation and diction. It’s a big part of my “homework” as an actress. I feel comfortable with all of foreign languages I speak but, to portray the best characters and reflect their origins, I try to possess the language skills to deliver the best performance possible.

Which international celebrities have you worked with? Can an actor learn something from his colleagues?

I believe that we are constantly learning and exchanging ideas and approaches to acting and creative processes. I have worked with some great actors and artists. I would like to learn from Nicole Kidman. I admire her work in “Grace of Monaco”.

Whose style of directing do you admire in Hollywood and who would you like in the future work with and learn from?

David Lynch I admire his directing style. We have not worked together yet, but that is definitely on my “to do” list. I would like to work and learn from Catherine Breillat, Malgorzata Szumowska, David Fincher and Darren Aronofsky.

When did you start to be a director and screenwriter? Is this the direction your career will go now, or is it just a challenge?

My first movie was co-directed with Dominique Maury Lesmartres in 2011 and the same year was selected for a Cannes Film Festival. Since then I made five short films. A year ago I started to work writing my first feature film “Constellations” and I am now getting closer to the point of this project being produced. I’m working closely with an English producer and we are moving forward pretty quickly, and we are now looking for Polish and German co producers. It is a project that I am extremely passionate about. It is quite a controversial story and I am quite anxious and excited to share it with audiences. Yes, definitely this is the direction I would like my career to go.

What project are you currently working on? What new would you like to bring to the Polish and world cinema?

I’m currently working on my first feature, psycho sexual drama, as a writer. I have acting projects going on but unfortunately can’t tell you more about them. I like Polish cinema for its depth and the analysis and construction of psychological portraits of characters. I really appreciate Szumowsk’a and Bartosz Warwas movies. Polish cinema is on a very high level but I would like to bring to the industry more international collaborations. I think working with people from different backgrounds and origins make  art projects more interesting and creates more varied outcomes. World cinema? It’s such a big world! What I’m looking for is to create a world cinema, not strongly attached to certain points, people, countries, but to express a thought, an idea to its best.

How would you compare the cinemas of the countries where you worked? Are there still  many differences between them in the approaching to the film business?

It is a very broad question. I think it is incomparable as there are many aspects of the industry that differ.  All of them have unique qualities to offer. I think the most common issue that all those cinemas share is that there are a small amount of women working in the  industry and unfortunately we are still experiencing a big level of inequality. I am actively trying to address this  problem and must assume that the future is bright.

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