They have been running their production company "Manifiesta" since 2009 and opened their film studio in Wroclaw in June 2013. To suit the purpose, they selected a post-industrial space in ul. Tęczowa. They were first in the town to come up with the idea and execute it. The place had the right atmosphere but needed renovation. "We have managed to restore its former aura and magic," says Bartek Bartos, who works as a director, screenwriter and producer. "It used to house a bathroom fittings factory, and later on a warehouse. For a year and a half, the place has served as a film studio to create commercials, TV programmes and documents. It also serves as an art studio."
"Boy with a Frog"
The entrance to "Manifiesta" leads through an industrial lift. The place is over 200 sqm in size and is fitted with electric light bulbs (precious acquisition from the Wroclaw Feature Film Studio) and furniture that dates back to the 1960s (saved from derelict factories). This is here, in their new editing room, where Bartek and Piotr completed their first feature "Boy with a Frog", which garnered the Best Film Award in the "Powiększenie" Competition during the T-Mobile Nowe Horyzonty Festival in 2014. "Our studio has become a meeting place for film makers, musicians and actors," adds Bartek. "And our friends, too.""Manifiesta" organises after parties following concerts and theatrical performances. "We attract people from a variety of backgrounds, and the atmosphere is similar to that of a New York loft," say Piotr and Bartek.They have released a variety of productions, including commercials, promos and TV programmes for TVP2. TVP Kultura, TVP Info and TVN. In their short forms, the Bartos brothers draw on video-art and sometimes video clips.
At the back of the zoo
They collaborate with Wroclaw's Capitol Music Theatre and Nowe Horyzonty Associations."What we want to make is auteur cinema," adds Piotr Bartos, who works in "Manifiesta" as a cameraman, editor and director. "This is ambitious cinema, but we make it both for the festival audience and those who seek entertainment.Their latest project involves a TV documentary series on Wroclaw Zoo personnel. The idea was suggested by Radosław Ratajszczak, Head of Wroclaw Zoo, Marta Zając-Ossowska, Head of Marketing, and film producer Michał Korynek. The project is also endorsed by the City of Wroclaw and Wroclaw Zoo (Wrocławski Ogród Zoologiczny)."I believe our idea may prove interesting to the audience at a variety of ages," says Bartek Bartos. "We're the back of the zoo all the time to show people who take care of the animals. One can say it's cinema for the entire family."
700 drawers
Their "Boy with a Frog", which they had worked on for four years in a row, was awarded at a variety of festivals in Europe and elsewhere. The film tells a story of the boys who wash windscreens in the street. "This year we are also planning to première an art documentary set in New Orleans," reveals Piotr. "The première will commemorate the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The documentary tells a story of New Orleans artist Jana Napoli, who used 700 drawers to create an installation called "Floodwall" as a homage to the hurricane's victims."
