Primary Schools: Grades IV-VI

We invite you to a workshop inspired by the film “Chasing Water Creatures” directed by Dòmhnall Eòghainn MacKinnon, where we will explore the relationship between humans and nature and reflect on the roles of observation and narration in documentary filmmaking. When the camera acts as a “witness,” how is the story told? What connects images, sounds, and words? What gives a film its meaning, evokes emotions, and helps us understand its message and purpose?

Participants will also construct their own cameras—specifically, an optical device with the intriguing name camera obscura—to use in observing the natural world.

Chasing Water Creatures | dir. Dòmhnall Eòghainn MacKinnon | United Kingdom 2022 | 14 min. | film with Polish voiceover

Aonghas lives in Scotland and regularly explores the tide pools near his home. On the rugged and beautiful Isle of Skye, Aonghas has already found every small sea creature he could and has become quite skilled at it. Now, he wants to find an even more elusive new friend: an octopus.

Topics covered in the film: animals, humans, the sea, human-nature relationships, unusual hobbies

The workshop will be led by Anna Szary—an art historian, educator, exhibition curator, and author of texts on art. She has gained experience in various cultural institutions (Centre of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko, Labirynt Gallery in Lublin, Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, Museum of Warsaw). Currently, she is affiliated with the Museum of the Royal Łazienki in Warsaw. She is a regular collaborator with the Andrzej Wajda Centre for Film Culture.