FILM INTERVIEW 2024
Iain Gardner
A bear named wojtek
Director - Iain Gardener
Writer - Wojciech Lepianka
Producer - Iain Harvey & Wlodzimierz Matuszewski
DEC, 1, 2024
A BEAR NAMED WOJTEK tells the fantastic journey of an orphaned Syrian brown bear brought to Edinburgh, having been previously adopted by Polish soldiers during World War II.
Hi Iain, it’s great to talk with you again. To say you’ve had an incredible reaction to your animated short A Bear Named Wojtek would be an understatement. What has it meant to you to have gotten the type of response you’ve gotten for the film?
Thank you so much! It’s been quite overwhelming. I’m often told of people crying, especially at the finale of the film. We had a viewing at OGNISKO POLSKIE which is a social club in London formed after the outbreak of War in 1939. The overwhelming emotion investment in the room was palpable, with people trembling as they asked questions and recalled family members who had known the bear during the conflict. They were very appreciative of the sensitivity we undertook in telling their story.
And being selected for Anncey must have been amazing, what was your screening at the festival like?
Annecy is always a great Festival to be a participant in, and the reception you receive from the organisers and programmers is amazing. It was an excellent year in Annecy – I really enjoyed Gints Zilbaldosis’s feature FLOW. I hope that gets recognised at the Academy this year – and was delighted for our compositor on WOJTEK, Will Anderson, winning the Crystal for Best Commissioned Work.
How did you first learn of this incredible story. And once you discovered that it was true when did you realise you wanted to turn this story into an animation?
When I was a student at Glasgow School of Art (where Norman McLaren had studied) we used to sketch at Edinburgh Zoo – I was always drawn to the Polar Bear enclosure and that was the location Wojtek lived in when he was resident at the Zoo. I always knew the story was true, and I felt animation was a great medium to address the ambiguity of whether or not the bear helped carry munitions during the Battle of Monte Cassino.
My desire to tell the story grew amidst the two defining referenda of my generation in the UK – first 2014’s Scottish Independence Referendum and then Brexit in 2016. Both campaigned on questions of National Identity, and it struck me that Wojtek was defined as a Polish Bear, despite being Syrian – and arguably could also be framed as a Scottish Bear. So, the metaphor of the bear as a symbol of National Identity grew on me, added to the fact that he was ostensively a refugee. An immigrant of the sort the Brexit vote appeared to be pushing back on!
Did it surprise you how well know the story was to the Polish Community?
Well, no, I was well aware how deeply important and meaningful the symbol of Wojtek was to that community within the UK, and beyond.
What do you think it is about Wojtek’s story that has remained so relevant to generations of Polish/British people?
I think Wojtek’s memory has persisted as he represents hope. Whilst Poland regained autonomy after the 1989 revolutions, Wojtek always stood as a symbol for that independence. And I feel that symbolism works whatever your nationality is – and it fascinates me how we reflect these ideas of identity onto animals.
When you first shared this story with Normand Roger did you always know, once the film was complete, that you would want him to create the music for the film?
I’ve always wanted to work with Normand Roger as he scored many of my favourite animated films – so when the opportunity arose in 2014 to pitch Wojtek to him, I grabbed it! So in fact he was the very first person I invited to collaborate with me on the film.
There’s also a very special connection you have with the history of Wojtek and the building that features in the film, can you tell us a little bit about this?
I’m not sure what building you’re referring to as there are many featured in the film! All the locations we reference in the film have a significance to the Wojtek story, be it the Monastery of Monte Cassino or Edinburgh Zoo. Did you mean my studio at Summerhall in Edinburgh which used to be Edinburgh’s Vet School – when Wojtek passed, his remains were taken there to be examined by the students! We don’t actually feature Summerhall in the film!
What has it meant to you to be able to have your studio at Summerhall?
It’s been great at Summerhall as it’s an eclectic mix of artists in residence – much like being back at Art School. Sadly, b as an arts complex it’s on borrowed time – the site has been put up for sale with the favoured bidders being property developers, so Edinburgh stands to lose a unique creative hub within the city. Such is the structure of capitalism where property rents take precedence over cultural capitol!
How did you go about casting A Bear Named Wojtek? Had you always had Bill Paterson in mind to play the Zoo Director?
We knew that we would need English speaking Polish actors for our main cast – I didn’t know many living in the UK but I was keen to work with Tomek Borkowy (who voiced the Major) as he had played a role in a classic Doctor Who, and a role which dovetailed with the historic era of our film! I’d worked with Shauna McDonald (Beryl) on a health education film previously and she was a great fit for her character due to having a more mature voice. Bill Paterson was a natural fit for the Zoo Director of course, such a sincere and reassuring quality to his voice! And didn’t expect Richard Gadd (Dave) to get stratospheric with Baby Reindeer!
In most cases the voice recording is done well in advance of the animation, can this impact the outcome of the animation?
We usually ask the performers to do some wild tracks for coverage, and this can have an enormous effect on the final edit – for example, Remi Rachuba (Jan) only had a few lines scripted, but from his improvised session we managed to flesh out the character on screen. The same for Bill Patterson – his ‘what a turn up for the books’ was an improvisation that really elevates the final sequence.
Due to the nature of the story was it always your intention to make A Bear Named Wojtek a co-production with Poland, and what was the experience like working with your Polish producer Wlodzimierz Matuszewski?
Yes, I knew early on that this story was well known in Poland and seeking funding in Poland would help get the budget over the line. Wlodek was an old friend of our Producer Iain Harvey!
How important was the creative collaboration between you and art director Rachel Bevan-Baker in creating the unique visual style of A Bear Named Wojtek?
Rachel Bevan Baker (RBB) is a unique artist, natural animator and a bit of a genius. We were pioneers for animation at The Glasgow School of Art in the 1980s as, despite counting Norman McLaren amongst its alumni, the school didn’t support animation when we were there. Knowing Rachel I knew I would barely need to explain what I was going for in the film – in fact, more often than not the direction for Rachel would be to ‘RBB it’. She’s just got an innate ability to judge how much detail is required for a scene to read.
Due to the time it can take to produce animated shorts, how do you keep yourself focused and motivated?
There’s so much variety in this half hour animated film it wasn’t difficult to remain engaged and challenged throughout – from animating the Battle of Monte Cassino to the frivolity of a Scottish ceilidh, from working with character designer Peter Dodd and layout artist Tudor Thomas to final sound mix with Pierre Yves Drapeau in Montreal. Plenty to keep me entertained!
Have you always had a passion for animation?
I’ve wanted to create animated film since RBB and I were at The Glasgow School of Art – during that time I attended the (1989?) Bristol Animation Festival, where Nick Park, John Lasseter were newbies, Ray Harryhausen was a guest as was Frédéric Back who has probably had the biggest influence on my career.
Having been the animation programmer at EIFF for 10-years, during this time what where some of your favourite short animations you got to programme?
During my ten-year tenure we screened many inspiring contemporary short films, but I’m most proud of inviting Richard Williams to Edinburgh in celebration of his 80th Birthday with a retrospective of his work. I also incorporating EIFF programming into my Centenary Celebrations for Norman McLaren which spanned the whole of Scotland in 2014 and provided me the opportunity to first meet Normand Roger!
"...a bit more appreciation of the sacrifice the
Polish Soldiers made during WWII."
Starting out in the industry did you have a mentor who helped provide guidance for you?
I learned a lot working at Richard Williams Studio on THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER, taking a year off Art College to do so – after graduating from the Royal College of Art I worked at John Coates TVC where Dave Unwin was my first proper mentor, advising on my first professional short film AKBAR’S CHEETAH.
What would you say has been the most valuable lesson you’ve take from this process?
It was always part of my long-term plan to use WOJTEK as a stepping stone towards directing/producing a feature film - scaling up and skilling up, not only myself but colleagues I enjoy working with was the most significant take away from the Production.
And finally, what would you like you audiences to take from A Bear Named Wojtek?
Ultimately respect and empathy for people displaced by conflict, and with specific reference to post-Brexit Britain a bit more appreciation of the sacrifice the Polish Soldiers made during WWII for our freedom and the contribution their descendants have made to the rich tapestry of life in the United Kingdom.