Marek Probosz: Essence of Life Is in Growth

A meeting with a famous Polish and US film and theatre actor, director, writer and professor of the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television (USA) was held within the framework of the Kazan Muslim Film Festival. The actor spoke about acting and directing professions, the nuances of teaching acting to Polish and American students and shared his life philosophy.

Marek Probosz graduated from the Lodz Film School and the American Film Institute. 'I would recommend the same path for emerging filmmakers. It is better to master as many professions as possible. The essence of life is in constant growth. The more you know, the more you get. Young people can run fast and a lot. However, when you are growing, you start stepping and if you are asked where are you going, in this case, you can tell about ‘every single leaf of the forest’, added Marek Probosz.

The actor provided an example of his 18-year-old son, who is a professional football player. Since 2016, he has been living in Brazil, working as well as gaining new skills and knowledge via online courses available at the University of Oxford. 'As a father, I am very happy that he is developing not only in a physical way, but also in spiritual way’, commented Marek Probosz. . that at a young age the son develops not only physically, but also takes spiritual food,' said the actor.

The participants of the meeting asked a question whether the acting students from Poland and US differ much. As Marek Probosz has a huge teaching experience in both of the countries, he noted that the main difference is not in individual talents, but in the perception of the profession: 'In the USA, the students are more energetic, they are ready to rush forward and overthrow the master, whereas in Poland, the students are waiting, when master would show what he or she can. They started working only after I talked to the Dean', he said.

According to him, the second key difference is the diversity of cultural backgrounds among the students of the Californian universities: 'The more you travel, the more you realize how similar are people. We all want to be happy, to live in peace, to enjoy what we do and have meaningful life. All people in the world are equally afraid of pain, betrayal, injustice, hunger and war', said Marek Probosz. He also added that he has realised that cultural differences are also vital due to the plays by William Shakespeare: 'I have noticed that for some cultures it is difficult to perform the scenes including intimacy on stage, whereas for others it might be easier. Combining cultural backgrounds and traditions is a creative act. In this context, the transmission of knowledge could be a great art, because it requires the work with the souls of people’.

Marek Probosz is also an author of 11 screenplays and 2 books as well as a theatre director. 'When you are writing, you are living the lives of your characters. It is fascinating, although it might seem to be a schizophrenia if you look from the other side’, said the actor and announced the upcoming premiere of his play on Broadway.

Maya-Gozel Aimedova, the chair of the jury of the 14th Kazan Muslim Film Festival also attended the meeting and thanked Marek Probosz for his master class: 'We are pleased to met such a phenomenal man and an amazing actor. We all could learn a lot from you’, said Aimedova.

The executive director of the festival, the director of Tatarkino Milyausha Aituganova promised that the spectators of the Kazan Muslim Film Festival will be able to communicate with Marek Probosz in the future: 'I am a teacher too. The issues that you mentioned are also very close to me. There is no doubt that your lectures gather full halls. You are a person with such a deep view on the world. Thank you!’, thank you said Aituganova and presented the actor a traditional festival souvenir, Tatar leather slippers with ornaments.

The photo report of the event is available here