Mia Wasikowska takes center stage in director Kuba Dorabialski’s Venice drama “Agata the Writer,” delivering a commanding performance that pushes the boundaries of traditional filmmaking. The film features an striking sequence in which Wasikowska addresses viewers directly in close-up while narrating portions of the story. The actress expressed her initial curiosity about the unconventional approach, though she admitted that watching the final product made her feel she had perhaps given the camera too much of her face.
The film follows Agata, a Polish-Australian writer who travels to Sarajevo to document accounts of the war. Upon arrival, she encounters skepticism from survivors about her intentions, while simultaneously strange occurrences involving missing artwork begin to unfold at her residence. Wasikowska, known for high-profile productions including “Alice in Wonderland” and “Jane Eyre,” has recently gravitated toward independent cinema. She emphasized her enthusiasm for participating in a project that rejected conventional storytelling methods, describing the experience as bringing exploratory energy back to filmmaking in an increasingly risk-averse industry.
Dorabialski, who previously worked in video art, deliberately crafted the film to blend cinematic and literary elements. He explained that while reading remains an intimate, solitary experience, cinema uniquely creates collective engagement. The director emphasized that film’s formal constraints—its defined timeframe and controlled environment—allow audiences to experience silence and stillness in ways literature cannot achieve, making the two mediums natural complements to one another.
Originally reported by Variety →
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