Their name Camera Nera derives from Italian because Valeria Cocco (actress, director and film researcher) comes from Sardegna, Italy. The "creative combo" as they like to call themselves also includes: Łukasz Śródka (director, cameraman, photographer), Agnieszka Wierszałowicz (production manager), Jakub Stachecki (editor, motion graphic designer) and Krystian Forberger (cameraman, photographer).
Motion mixture
They all share passion for the film, but each of them has a different story to tell. Łukasz read Polish in Wroclaw and went abroad to learn languages. He is now fluent in English, Italian and Spanish. He has lived and worked in four countries so far. He has always show interest in photography. A photographer soon turned into a cameraman. As he was touring Rome he met Valeria, an actress and film researcher, who just like him came from the family of architects. Valeria decided to settle in Wroclaw. Agnieszka left Warsaw for Międzygórze in Lower Silesia some time ago. She works as a production manager and shares her time between Warsaw, Wroclaw and Międzygórze. Jakub studied film editing at the Warsaw Film School (Warszawska Szkoła Filmowa) and Miroslav Ondricek's Film Academy in the Czech Republic. Krystuan studies design at the University of Lower Silesia (Dolnośląska Szkoła Wyższa). In Camera Nera he works as a cameraman and photographer.
Office in a brewing vat
"Some time in the past you had to finish a film school and complete a variety of courses and placement programmes. You couldn't do anything about it," says Łukasz. "It's not necessary these days, largely because of the ever changing technology." The industry has developed a lot since 2008, when digital cameras emerged.Professionally, Łukasz has had his finger in many pies: he works as a director, writes scripts to his films and takes photographs.The young film-makers were looking for a post-industrial space to convert it into a studio and that is how they came across former Browar Mieszczański warehouses in ul Hubska. "We took an immediate liking in the place," recounts Valeria Cocco. "Lofty ceilings, beautiful windows and the vats that create the atmosphere. We're in a good company," she adds. "There's a theatre group and cooking workshops right next door. The place is teeming with artistic ideas, you can feel the creative ferment in the air."The interior is extremely impressive. The film-makers have managed to convert the former brewery into their imagined studio. Empty vats can now serve as office spaces, and the walls are used for screenings. The green screen will be installed a floor below (the premises have two floors). "We're still in the preparation process," says Agnieszka, the production manager. "We're planning a grand opening in spring."
From video art to creative advertising
Camera Nera have released several dozen film productions, including documentaries, fictional and commercial. Valeria also creates video art installations. In 2012 they shot "Urzulei", their first documentary about a derelict village in Sardegna. "The place is absolutely magical," says Łukasz enthusiastically. "Each day as were driving to work we would cover the most beautiful route you can imagine. My brother even married there."As an independent film studio they want to make documentaries, films about art and creative commercials. They are also thinking about their own feature film. At the moment, they are working on a documentary: a tale about Wroclaw painter Konrad Jarodzki. The trailer has already been presented at the painter's retrospective in New York and at the Consulate Genreal of the Republic of Poland in the US. "The trailer was received favourably," say the artists from Camera Nera.
