Students of the practical pathway of the first year of Film and Audiovisual Culture Knowledge at the Faculty of Philology of the UG participated in script consultations with Wojciech Smarzowski, one of the most successful directors of contemporary Polish cinema, repeated winner of the 'Eagle' Polish Film Award for best director, winner of the ' Polityka' Passport or awards in the Main Competition of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.

Smarzowski's films, such as: 'Wesele', 'Dom zły', 'Róża' or 'Wołyń' have been the subject of many public discussions about the situation of Polish society and Poland's complicated history. 'Kler', on the other hand, apart from triggering a critical debate about the problems faced by the Polish Catholic Church, proved to be the most considerable attendance success of the domestic cinema of the 21st century.

Wojciech Smarzowski accepted the invitation to work with students at the University of Gdańsk thanks to the efforts of dr Piotr Kurpiewski, Head of the Film and Media Department at the Faculty of Philology. The director had already visited UG twice before - as part of the promotion for his film 'Wesele' (2021) in November 2021 and for a meeting with film students in March 2022.

The topic of the current consultation was a discussion of the scripts for student etudes made by WoFiKA students as part of the four-semester course in the subject 'Film Making'. The conversation with Wojciech Smarzowski sums up the first part of the etudes' preparation stage, and the texts discussed were:

• 'Bycie pozorne' (screenplay by Ksawier Szczechowski, Patrycja Szczypior) '
• Miejski folklor' (screenplay by Maciej Lipa)
• 'Okno' (screenplay by Jan Wojtkowski)
• 'Trup Story' (screenplay by Julia Rynkowska)

During the three-hour meeting, Wojciech Smarzowski addressed all the scripts substantively, pointed out their advantages and shortcomings, and patiently answered students' questions about the glories and shadows of the filmmaking profession.

Film students show extraordinary commitment in their daily work, and course activities prepare them to undertake artistic and production activities in the field of filmmaking as well as scientific activities and animation of film culture.

Films made by PFA and WoFiKA, students and graduates, have repeatedly qualified for the most important national festivals (e.g. 'Pan Młody', dir. Jan Saczek, qualification for the Short Film Competition at the 46th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia), and have also taken part in the official selection of international festivals (e.g. 'Inkluzja', dir. Marcin Makara).

The Department of Film and Media at the Institute for Cultural Research in the Faculty of Philology of UG runs two practical film courses: Production of Audiovisual Forms and Knowledge of Film and Audiovisual Culture. Across the university, both majors rank 5th and 6th in the popularity ranking of all majors.

The meeting took place on January 16, 2023.