Director Dorota Kędzierzawska and cameraman Artur Reinhart talk to Maria Sondej about their latest film, Pora umierać (Time to Die).

This is the fourth film you've made together. Wrony (Crows) from 1994 won first prize in the Camerimage International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography in Łódź, while Jestem (I Am) won the 2005 Polish film competition. This time you were less successful...

Dorota Kędzierzawska: Time to Die received the Audience and Critics Award in the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, and Danuta Szaflarska, who played the leading role, won best actor award, but awards are not so important. We were thrilled to play the film to the Camerimage audience which included some real bigwigs.

You don't make so many new films nowadays. Why do you take so long to finish your movies?

D.K.: Because I'm a perfectionist. In this case the editing took an incredible nine months, whereas the shooting itself took just 28 days.

Is this your first black and white film?

Artur Reinhart: Yes, it's a great adventure, a completely new challenge which requires a completely different way of looking at the world. I'm delighted as this work was a bit of an exploration for me. And, honestly, black and white was the only option for me. I don't regret that decision. Even though I found out, just after the first week, that it's much more difficult to shoot a black and white than a color film. The biggest problem was the black dog which accompanied the lead character, as the black fur absorbed the whole light. Despite these problems I love working with a black and white film-it's an experience I recommend to every cameraman.

The lead character is played by Danuta Szaflarska, who debuted in 1946. She was 91 during the making of the film.

D.K.: I first met her 16 years ago. She played a bit part in my first film, then she played another minor part in one of my later films, but I'd always thought it would be great to have a script written specially for her, and finally we did it. I didn't have to explain anything to her on the set-she was the one who made the lead character authentic. Without Danuta Szaflarska we couldn't have made this film.