Hi, Tereska (2001) Czesc Tereska (original title)

Director:

Robert Glinski

Writers:

Jacek Wyszomirski (screenplay) &
Robert Glinski (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 September 2001 (Poland)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Bad Girl | Decline | Cigarette Smoking | Brutality | Sewing

Awards:

14 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Aleksandra Gietner	...	Tereska
Karolina Sobczak	...	Renata
Zbigniew Zamachowski	...	Edek
Malgorzata Rozniatowska	...	Tereska's Mother
Krzysztof Kiersznowski	...	Stasiek, Tereska's Father
Violetta Arlak	...	Sewing-School Teacher Jola (as W. Arlak)
Andrzej Chudy		(as A. Chudy)
Janusz Hamerszmit	...	Policeman Interrogating Tereska (as J. Hamerszmit)
Elzbieta Kijowska	...	Sewing-School Director (as E. Kijowska)
Monika Kisla	...	Shopkeeper (as M. Kisla)
Slawomir Orzechowski	...	Neighbour Kucharski (as S. Orzechowski)
Zbigniew Modej	...	Szary (as Z. Modej)
Arkadiusz Nader	...	Cop at Police Station (as A. Nader)
Andrzej Szopa	...	Choir Manager (as A. Szopa)
Michal Górski		(as M. Górski)
D. Kapera
K. Kolodziej
A. Milewski
M. Niemyjski
A. Nowak
P. Sawicka
D. Staszewski
Mariusz Wojtan

Directed by
Robert Glinski

Writing credits
Jacek Wyszomirski		(screenplay and dialogue) &
Robert Glinski		(screenplay and dialogue)

Produced by
Filip Chodzewicz	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Jacek Kusmierczyk

Cinematography by
Petro Aleksowski

Film Editing by
Krzysztof Szpetmanski

Production Design by
Elwira Pluta

Costume Design by
Dorota Galezia

Makeup Department
Janina Dybowska-Person	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Lidia Gibas-Ber	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Karolina Bendera	....	assistant director
Witold Iwaszkiewicz	....	assistant director
Bozena Walinowicz-Pacholska	....	assistant director

Art Department
Izabela Dowgielewicz	....	assistant production designer
Jan Kuklinski	....	assistant production designer
Grzegorz Witczak	....	assistant production designer

Sound Department
Mateusz Adamski	....	sound mixer
Lech Branski	....	sound
Tadeusz Laszczewski	....	sound recordist
Grzegorz Lindemann	....	sound mixer
Aleksandra Miruk-Mirska	....	sound mixer
Sebastian Witkowski	....	sound mixer
Henryk Zastrózny	....	sound effects editor

Stunts
Zbigniew Modej	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Petro Aleksowski	....	camera operator
Piotr Joel	....	gaffer
Ryszard Kozak	....	gaffer
Zdzislaw Ostrowski	....	gaffer
Agnieszka Piotrowska	....	still photographer
Jaroslaw Roszyk	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Robert Kruczek	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Malgorzata Przedpelska-Bieniek	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Adam Banach	....	title designer
Marta Jaroslawska	....	production assistant
Robert Kruczek	....	video transfer
Jacek Kwiatkowski	....	production assistant
Beata Ochmanska	....	production assistant
Malgorzata Powalka	....	production assistant
Jacek Szymanski	....	title designer
Aneta Wisniewska	....	production assistant
Andrzej Tarasewicz	....	medical consultant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Propaganda Film (executive production)
• Telewizja Polska (TVP)

Also Known As:

"Czesc Tereska" - Poland (original title)
"Hi Tessa" - International (English title)

Runtime:

86 min | Canada:91 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Colour:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Osiedle Ostrobramska, Praga Poludnie, Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Company:

Propaganda Film

Movie Connections:

Featured in Co dalej z toba, Karolinko? (2003)

Innocence Lost

Hi Tereska is a bitter coming-of-age story set in the working-class neighborhood of a post-industrial Warsaw. Full of a talent that promises the possibility of a brighter future, Tereska, an aspiring fashion designer enrolls in a tailor-training program with dreams of fleeing her sordid surroundings for the glamorous fashion world of Paris. Yet how can she escape when everywhere she looks there is a no-exit sign? With its stunning black and white cinematography, the bleakness of Tereska's world is aptly depicted. From the pathetic figure of her drunken father and tired, working-class mother to the sting of betrayal by her only friend, the bright 15-year old is slowly tarnished and worn away by an environment that strips away her humanity because it offers her nothing else.

However, it would be too easy to write off Tereska as just another victim. Polish director Robert Glinski takes the film a step beyond the trappings of an oh-so sad too bad ruination of a bright kid, and genuinely shocks the audience with his uncompromising portrayal of the vicious cycle of poverty and violence. By the end of the film I was left reeling as I watched the downward spiral of a sweet girl becoming increasingly sadistic and cruel, her vulnerability a threat to not only herself, but to others as well.

First time actor Aleksandra Gietner, cast at a reform school, delivers a genuine and powerful performance that is at times painful to watch. Her style of acting is largely understated-emotions are not cheaply posed on the features, yet often swim just below the surface, contained by Tereska's hardened exterior, to escape only occasionally in an unadorned tear. The guardedness of Tereska's emotions does more to reveal her secret hopes and fears then out-right expression ever could.

Innocence lost is a common theme in cinema, yet rarely is it as bleak and unadorned as Hi Tereska. A bitter pill to swallow without any of the inane albeit soothing comic relief that often candy coats difficult issues in Hollywood film, Hi Tereska is not easy to stomach, but its stark honesty makes it worth the discomfort.