Delfin Łakatosz interviewed by Justyna Żarczyńska
From an early age, Delfin Łakatosz showed an interest in art and created his artistic legacy, which now includes a long list of completed activities. At some point, he decided to devote more time and energy to photography and film. He travels a lot and carries out commercial projects, although he still occasionally stands at his easel and paints a picture. He invariably derives joy from participating in social and artistic campaigns, helping others to discover the creativity within them.
Your story of artistic endeavour, like that of your sister, begins in childhood. You were still in your mother’s belly when – one could metaphorically say – you were already being fed art. As children, you started to take part in competitions, attended various cultural events… How did it happen that film and photography came into your life, which you now mainly deal with?
It all started with watching films. I was non-stop watching Hollywood productions, Polish productions, different ones… I always wondered or asked my mum how these films were made. Later, my uncle would come to our house and he had a camera. That interested me a lot too. I would ask my uncle if I could take a picture. Someone else in the family explained to me what photography was all about. I had a computer with a camera hooked up to it and at first it was the one I used for my first film attempts. Later, when we started winning competitions and I also managed to win a scholarship competition (Nationwide competition for particularly talented Roma students of the Ministry of Interior and Administration – editor’s note), I promised myself that I would use the money from the scholarship to buy a camera. And that’s what I did – I bought the equipment: a camera for smaller cassettes. I used it to record at home, taking shots of furniture, cats, people and so on. I taught myself how to make films. My model was often my sister (Noemi Łakatosz – editor’s note). We would get dressed up and record various short scenes based on a plot we had invented. My cousin showed me a film editing programme. I learned how to use it. I collected magazines that came with other programmes, such as photo editing or video editing. I recorded my films on DVDs. We did premiere screenings at my grandmother’s house. I moved away from fine arts in favour of photography and film.
What was next? I suppose that the needs for equipment and ideas for future films changed over time? There was probably a desire to go out into the world with projects.
Later on I was using different equipment. I had a portable console that you could plug a small camera into. That was a breakthrough for me, because I was using equipment that already had a large screen size. This was 2008 or 2009, phones had about 4-inch displays then. When I went out with the console to record, people wondered what it was.
I also had a second camera, already digital, which I gave to my mother after a while. I used a console with a program that allowed me to edit films. It was something amazing. Later on, I started recording with my phone. I sent my films to competitions. For example, there was a film I made with my sister in a supermarket before Christmas. We were shopping at the time. We had a trolley loaded with products. There were a lot of people around. I asked Emi: ‘Why don’t we make a video here?’ She asked: ‘What kind?’ I came up with the idea of a trolley chasing her around the supermarket. I would drive the trolley through the shop aisles and Emi would run away. The phone I was recording with was hidden. I edited the footage while we were standing in the checkout queue. The film was called Trolley. I sent it to a competition held in Poznań. It won second place in its category. That’s how everything started to take off.
Noemi mentioned the joint activities you have been doing when it comes to film. What else have you done together in this area?
My sister played a leading role in my films for a long time. Among other things, she created the character of Granny Miecia. It all started with us acting out theatrical scenes together in front of family members. These performances took place in our grandmother’s house. During one of the performances, Noemi began to pretend to be the character of an old woman while speaking in a strange voice. I used this character in further filming activities. The character of Granny Miecia evolved – first we created improvised scenes, then we started filming based on a script we had written beforehand. We even prepared pranks when such ideas were popular. Noemi, as Granny Miecia, bothered people on the street a bit, or rather commented on what was going on in real time. In addition to this, we also tried our hand at action films. One of these was a video we recorded on a train. We were on our way back from Kraków to Poznań. We came up with the idea of creating a film in which Noemi’s alter ego starts fighting her. There were claustrophobic scenes. We shot them in the passage between the carriages. It was quite a scary, uncomfortable moment in the making. Then Noemi entered the compartment where she met herself. That’s where the fight between the two characters took place. It was the first time I’d done something like that, so I wondered how to solve it technically. One girl eventually locks the other in a compartment. The film ends with a scene where Noemi wakes up in her seat on the train, so it seems like it was all a dream, but that’s not necessarily the case, because the character sees her clone next to her again. I also sent this film to a competition. I received an editing award for it. It’s also worth mentioning a web series that was about ticket inspectors and the adventures of passengers. It was called Kanary. It had three seasons and became very popular, not only locally but even outside of Poznań. Emi played the role of Pati, the ticket inspector. I managed to get a lot of people involved in making the series. They were amateurs, but I got so much out of them that they could be hired for other productions and no one would notice that they hadn’t finished film school. It was a great time. There was a lot of collaborative work of that kind.
And have you ever thought about a feature-length film?
I haven’t dealt with a feature-length film, it’s probably not my format.
I like shorter forms, documentary, reportage, but also parodies. The longest films I’ve done are about 50-minute concert recordings. One episode of the aforementioned Kanary was also half an hour long. Apart from that, I created a short science fiction film that was a parody and lasted more than 20 minutes.
Do you still sometimes return to traditional techniques, such as painting?
Yes. Every month we meet in one of the art studios in Poznań, which was set up by Ms Hanna Szeląg. She is a theatre director and teacher. She runs a socio-therapeutic day-care centre that my sister and I used to go to. As part of this day-care centre, a second facility has been set up, the AMICI Art Studio. This is where we come every month and create paintings, which are later auctioned off by sponsors to support the activities of both the day centre and the studio. I am happy to come there for a few hours and actually create something at the easel. The paintings I have painted have particularly suited kitchen interiors. I’m happy to go for food themes. However, I always try to show everything in a creative way. For example, I painted a scrambled egg depicted in space, surrounded by bacon. Or a cup of coffee with a tornado inside. I am currently recording reels and other short film formats for social media that are related to a variety of products – food and beverages.
Author: Delfin Łakatosz
I have seen some of the material you have created. I’ve noticed that although you show something essentially ordinary, you always give it a spectacular touch, and the whole thing resembles a scene in a large-format action film.
Yes, I have always been very keen on bringing inanimate things to life. This interest led to a film called Fork – a horror film in which a fork attacks people. The trolley in the aforementioned supermarket film was also brought to life by me in this way. Similarly, there was a skateboard that terrorised children. I shot the latter footage during a film workshop with the kids, just before Halloween, so it fitted the mood perfectly. When I’m making my films, I always think about how to show a certain thing a little differently. I learn from my mistakes, but I also take inspiration from others without copying them, because that’s not the point…
What does your work look like now? What exactly do you do?
I’m a freelancer, which means I get corporate assignments and work on commercial projects. I record music videos. I also undertake collaborations with various organisations, such as schools. I write scripts. I have been abroad, where I recorded reportages and other documentary forms. The activities abroad were largely related to projects integrating Roma and non-Roma communities. In 2020, I went to Romania for a month, where we worked with the local community. I documented everything that went on there. Before that, more than 10 years ago, I was in Vienna with Noemi for the Open Your Eyes project on anti-Gypsyism in the world. I took part in a series of workshops on documenting such projects in a modern form and using a smartphone. I focused on recording footage to promote the various events that the programme covered: happenings, conferences, lectures and much more. In our spare time, we created a video with the Roma community. Grandma Miecia appeared, who, according to the script, goes to Vienna and has various adventures and meets other people – participants in the project. It was improvised. In Berlin, during another project, I also made a film involving the Roma community – it was an action film called Fałszywa miłość w Berlinie (False Love in Berlin). I edited it quickly and presented it on the last day of my stay. Everyone enjoyed it, there was a lot of laughter. I showed that you can do something creative together in a short time.
As I understand it, is this need to participate in pro-social activities still strong in you?
Yes. I really like it when people who are not connected to film and have not had to deal with the creation of any productions of this kind before get involved in the realisation of various creative ideas. It’s amazing that you can get people to become active and more open to certain artistic activities.
I have this thought that just as you and your sister were encouraged by your mum to create, you are now passing on that light yourself and encouraging others to be creative, maybe even discovering hidden talents…
Yes, mum was and still is our manager. She sought out competitions we could enter and motivated us. She commented on my work. She didn’t always just praise. Sometimes she had to say what needed to be improved. This was the case with the films I showed her. She was the first viewer. I took my mother’s opinion into account, as she was the one who encouraged us to continue to discover ourselves through art. My artwork illustrated her first book of poetry, Betonowy las (Concrete Forest). I also designed the cover for it.
And what significance does your background have for you as a young artist?
It is important to me. Since I was a child I have been connected to the Roma culture. I have met various Roma clans – both in Poland and abroad. This theme often runs through my productions, including documentaries, music videos and films. It is something original that many don’t know, but can get to know through what I do, which has an interesting form. Young people need this. Roma culture is so original and colourful that it is worth showing it in a modern way, so that there is freshness combined with tradition.
I’m curious to know what your attitude to AI is. In your opinion, is artificial intelligence a threat to artists?
We hear about cases where people are being replaced by artificial intelligence. I think it’s not something that is meant to completely replace humans, but something that speeds up certain creative processes. I see people who can’t use AI properly. They generate different images and are happy to get their work out of the way. They use AI in their work 100%, while I use it about 20-30%, which is more to complement the work, to embellish it a bit. I’m very impressed with what AI can do. You can clone a voice, generate ultra-realistic photos and videos. It’s absolute science fiction that’s really happening. There is no doubt that this will progress. Paradoxically, artists have room for improvement here, because works created without AI will be more valued in the future than those generated with AI, because we will see artificiality and soullessness in the latter. People will want to see something real that carries some kind of important message.
What’s coming up for you in the near future? What are your plans?
There’s a lot going on, basically all the time. I don’t like to plan everything. Often, spontaneous actions have stood up for themselves. They showed that you can do something from nothing. Without a budget, without a prepared script, without a plan, because the plan was created in the process. My dream is to implement even more of my ideas, to meet more people. I would like to run a workshop on the conscious use of AI one day. I teach others all the time, including children, how they can do something interesting using what they have in their pocket, which is a smartphone. I’m not hoping for an Oscar or other awards, but interesting adventures with an appropriate finale that will be remembered by others. I want to keep exploring the world. To do what I love.
Interviewed by Justyna Żarczyńska
Author: Delfin Łakatosz
Funded by KPO. GRANTS 2024. A2.5.1: Programme of support for the activities of entities of the cultural and creative industries to stimulate their development
