Charming doc of Wolf Street

Illustration/Uday Mohite

One of the most unusual and delightful India-related films in the 75th Berlin Film Festival was Listy z Wilczej, Letters from Wolf Street, by Arjun Talwar, that played in the Panorama section. A Polish-German co-production, the film, shot in Poland, in Polish, is a funny, poignant and insightful film, a personal documentary from the viewpoint of an immigrant trying to fit into Polish society. Talwar, who studied to be a mathematician in New Delhi, moved to Poland, and stayed on for 10 years, before moving to Goa. He shot on the street where he lived, Wolf Street, speaking to ordinary people--shopkeepers, a postman, other immigrants, about the street. As the film unfolds, a portrait of Poland emerges, with the evolution of its society, and its contradictions. "You could have gone to live in England or France, why Poland?" a sweeper asks him, as if he's a complete idiot. As Talwar's voiceover tells us in charming Indian-accented Polish (there is also a version with an English voiceover), he had been seeing a lot of Polish movies, and he and his friend Aditya, feeling rebellious, were seduced by the idea of becoming artists in Poland and moved there. Coincidentally, the film is a wonderful follow-up to Sreemoyee Singh's Be Kucheye Khoshbakht, And Towards Happy Alleys, that also played in the Panorama in 2023, in which an Indian student from Kolkata had shot the wonderful documentary in Iran, in Farsi, underlining a thrilling interest in Indians migrating to other cultures for artistic reasons.

Soon, with the rise of nationalism, some skinheads thrash Talwar and he ends up in hospital, but he only becomes more determined to tighten his embrace of Poland, convinced that that is not the view of the majority. There's a poignant moment on Poland's National Day, when hordes of Poles participate in nationalistic processions, and Talwar asks a stranger in the crowd if he can borrow his flag - and he poses with the flag for a few moments. The scene reminds us of Joe Rosenthal's Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of World War II. Yet, here it is a moment staged for the camera, a borrowed patriotism, in order to fit in. We also meet his other immigrant friends - the lovely Mo Tan and Feras Daboul. Mo Tan, his Asian friend from film school days in Poland, becomes his sound recordist on the film. When he asks Feras, his friend from the Middle East, who seems to have assimilated well, why he chose Poland, he jokes, "Unlimited access to pork chops." Talwar also has an eye for his contradictions - and alongside Poland's history of Communism, he finds Jesus and Mary being guardians in many gardens.

While there is a poignant track concerning Talwar's friend Aditya, he makes new friends too, including Oskar, a Roma gypsy, who warmly welcomes him as a fellow Indian, seeing his Roma lineage going back to India. The warmest bond in the film seems to be between two outliers in Polish society - the Roma gypsy and the immigrant Talwar. He even invites Talwar to his wedding, and Talwar ends up being a sort of Bollywood-style wedding planner, organizing for him a Maganlal Dresswala-style rajah's turban with shiny golden trimmings and pearl strands, a saffron kurta and orange sash, for the wedding celebrations. In doing so, we see Poland's inclusive and diverse roots as well.

The direction is confident, with astute observations on Polish society, wit and charm. Talwar's previous film, A Donkey Called Geronimo, co-directed with Bigna Tomschin, premiered at DOK Leipzig in 2018. Wolf Street opens with a view of his neighbour across the street, a middle aged woman who shakes out her sheets in her balcony and occasionally waves at Talwar, but ignores him when they meet in the street: it seems a snapshot for his position in Polish society. Talwar has a marvellous and diverse cast of characters. But it is his screenplay and Bigna Tomschin's superb editing that offers us a tightly knit film of varied moods, hilarious yet thoughtful. Talwar also did the cinematography, with a "digital Bolex" camera, that while being digital, allowed him to use lenses that also gave the film a nostalgic feel, he explained. The film is produced by Uni-Solo Studio, Poland and co-produced by Inselfilm Production, Germany. Prague-based firm Filmotor is doing international sales, and the producers have already signed distribution deals for Germany and Poland. The women crew include producer Karolina Śmigiel and editor Bigna Tomschin. A delightul and thoughtful film.

Meenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival, National Award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist.
Reach her at meenakshi.shedde@mid-day.com