Zbigniew Czapla

Rock Bottom

Inspired by the music and life of Robert Wyatt, ​“Rock Bottom” is a self-destructive love story between Bob and Alif, a young couple of artists immersed in the creative whirlwind of the early 70s hippie culture. Drugs will turn a passionate summer into a nightmare in a journey through the themes of Wyatt’s music: the euphoria and anguish of artistic creation, the unconscious fascination with drugs, the disenchantment with routine and physical and mental degradation.

Rock Bottom

Inspired by the music and life of Robert Wyatt, ​“Rock Bottom” is a self-destructive love story between Bob and Alif, a young couple of artists immersed in the creative whirlwind of the early 70s hippie culture. Drugs will turn a passionate summer into a nightmare in a journey through the themes of Wyatt’s music: the euphoria and anguish of artistic creation, the unconscious fascination with drugs, the disenchantment with routine and physical and mental degradation.

On Time

Japanese trains. Non-places. An intense travel experience through time and space. From Matsuo Bashō's haikus to images of a vanishing world created by Hokusai in Manga catalogues.

Strange Case

A breathtaking, bold and painterly film streaming images, thoughts and memories of random experiences.

Toto

A story of a sensible boy, raised by a lonely and hard working mother, somewhere in a far province, where life revolves around daily, inveterate habits. The little protagonist is being deceitfully seduced by a shady “master” and cynical collector of keys. In consequence of the mystery and rather incomprehensible events, the world of his unconcerned childhood falls apart. The boy gets lost on his way back home while his concerned mother takes up a desperate attempt of finding her little son. “Toto”, a kaleidoscope of events filled to the brim with suspense and awe, is a universal story about naiveté and irreversibly lost infant dreams. If we lack the word to name the phenomenon, we don’t know precisely what exactly happened.

Toto

A story of a sensible boy, raised by a lonely and hard working mother, somewhere in a far province, where life revolves around daily, inveterate habits. The little protagonist is being deceitfully seduced by a shady “master” and cynical collector of keys. In consequence of the mystery and rather incomprehensible events, the world of his unconcerned childhood falls apart. The boy gets lost on his way back home while his concerned mother takes up a desperate attempt of finding her little son. “Toto”, a kaleidoscope of events filled to the brim with suspense and awe, is a universal story about naiveté and irreversibly lost infant dreams. If we lack the word to name the phenomenon, we don’t know precisely what exactly happened.

Toto

A story of a sensible boy, raised by a lonely and hard working mother, somewhere in a far province, where life revolves around daily, inveterate habits. The little protagonist is being deceitfully seduced by a shady “master” and cynical collector of keys. In consequence of the mystery and rather incomprehensible events, the world of his unconcerned childhood falls apart. The boy gets lost on his way back home while his concerned mother takes up a desperate attempt of finding her little son. “Toto”, a kaleidoscope of events filled to the brim with suspense and awe, is a universal story about naiveté and irreversibly lost infant dreams. If we lack the word to name the phenomenon, we don’t know precisely what exactly happened.

Toto

A story of a sensible boy, raised by a lonely and hard working mother, somewhere in a far province, where life revolves around daily, inveterate habits. The little protagonist is being deceitfully seduced by a shady “master” and cynical collector of keys. In consequence of the mystery and rather incomprehensible events, the world of his unconcerned childhood falls apart. The boy gets lost on his way back home while his concerned mother takes up a desperate attempt of finding her little son. “Toto”, a kaleidoscope of events filled to the brim with suspense and awe, is a universal story about naiveté and irreversibly lost infant dreams. If we lack the word to name the phenomenon, we don’t know precisely what exactly happened.

Toto

A story of a sensible boy, raised by a lonely and hard working mother, somewhere in a far province, where life revolves around daily, inveterate habits. The little protagonist is being deceitfully seduced by a shady “master” and cynical collector of keys. In consequence of the mystery and rather incomprehensible events, the world of his unconcerned childhood falls apart. The boy gets lost on his way back home while his concerned mother takes up a desperate attempt of finding her little son. “Toto”, a kaleidoscope of events filled to the brim with suspense and awe, is a universal story about naiveté and irreversibly lost infant dreams. If we lack the word to name the phenomenon, we don’t know precisely what exactly happened.

Toto

A story of a sensible boy, raised by a lonely and hard working mother, somewhere in a far province, where life revolves around daily, inveterate habits. The little protagonist is being deceitfully seduced by a shady “master” and cynical collector of keys. In consequence of the mystery and rather incomprehensible events, the world of his unconcerned childhood falls apart. The boy gets lost on his way back home while his concerned mother takes up a desperate attempt of finding her little son. “Toto”, a kaleidoscope of events filled to the brim with suspense and awe, is a universal story about naiveté and irreversibly lost infant dreams. If we lack the word to name the phenomenon, we don’t know precisely what exactly happened.

Toto

A story of a sensible boy, raised by a lonely and hard working mother, somewhere in a far province, where life revolves around daily, inveterate habits. The little protagonist is being deceitfully seduced by a shady “master” and cynical collector of keys. In consequence of the mystery and rather incomprehensible events, the world of his unconcerned childhood falls apart. The boy gets lost on his way back home while his concerned mother takes up a desperate attempt of finding her little son. “Toto”, a kaleidoscope of events filled to the brim with suspense and awe, is a universal story about naiveté and irreversibly lost infant dreams. If we lack the word to name the phenomenon, we don’t know precisely what exactly happened.

Toto

A story of a sensible boy, raised by a lonely and hard working mother, somewhere in a far province, where life revolves around daily, inveterate habits. The little protagonist is being deceitfully seduced by a shady “master” and cynical collector of keys. In consequence of the mystery and rather incomprehensible events, the world of his unconcerned childhood falls apart. The boy gets lost on his way back home while his concerned mother takes up a desperate attempt of finding her little son. “Toto”, a kaleidoscope of events filled to the brim with suspense and awe, is a universal story about naiveté and irreversibly lost infant dreams. If we lack the word to name the phenomenon, we don’t know precisely what exactly happened.

Paperbox

In May 2010, after record rainfall, flash flood broke embankments of the Vistula near Wilków. Catastrophic flooding deprived thousands of people of all their possessions and roofs over their heads. A few weeks later Zbigniew Czapla found a box of old photographs in his family house also ravaged by the element. The unique family mementoes left were destroyed by water, mud and mold. This film is a desperate attempt to keep memories, reconstruct people and events of the past. An impression on the transitory nature of memory, inevitability of fading and the destructive force of elements.

The Ritual

”Rytual” is a vividly illustrated record of the character's struggle with everyday activities. A sequence of overlapping interactions between a human and a dog often assumes a grotesque, comical form of intolerable compulsions. The short film raises a timid question about the complexity - or should we say imperfections - of human nature. Behaviors, gestures and habits of both the human and his dog show a far-reaching resemblance, while their mutual relationship is an unending cycle of everyday rituals. The character, entangled in the series of recurring events, unexpectedly discovers the terrifying animality of his own nature. This disturbing metamorphosis is interrupted by a sudden awakening. But was it merely a dream?

The Ritual

”Rytual” is a vividly illustrated record of the character's struggle with everyday activities. A sequence of overlapping interactions between a human and a dog often assumes a grotesque, comical form of intolerable compulsions. The short film raises a timid question about the complexity - or should we say imperfections - of human nature. Behaviors, gestures and habits of both the human and his dog show a far-reaching resemblance, while their mutual relationship is an unending cycle of everyday rituals. The character, entangled in the series of recurring events, unexpectedly discovers the terrifying animality of his own nature. This disturbing metamorphosis is interrupted by a sudden awakening. But was it merely a dream?