Director Jonas Ulrich formed an actual black metal band for his debut feature “Wolves.”
WLVS – led by actor Bartosz Bielenia, known for Oscar-nominated “Corpus Christi” – ended up touring and performing in real clubs. As well as its own world premiere at Zurich Film Festival.
“To take it seriously, we shot real concerts. We wrote a full album and built a stage show. I wanted musicians to watch it and say: ‘I know exactly what that feels like,’” says Ulrich, explaining the whole shoot was built around the gigs they managed to book.
“I like music films when the human drama also stands on its own – when you could remove the music and the story still works. ‘Control’ and ‘Sound of Metal’ are good examples of that. We also wanted to push against the formula. In the end, the film isn’t really about the band.”
“I used to only listen to Iron Maiden and Tool, but since we’ve made the film, this music stayed with me,” adds Bielenia.
“I’ve always wanted to start a metal band, but I didn’t have the strength – or the skills. It was a great adventure to play these concerts and convince people with our performance. People who didn’t even know they were taking a part in a film.”
In “Wolves,” Luana (Selma Kopp) decides to join her cousin’s black metal band on tour. She falls for its singer, Wiktor (Bartosz Bielenia), but his views might be more radical than she thinks.
“I’m a metalhead. I used to do booking, promotion and concert photography for underground bands. I wanted a film that treats this world seriously, not some cliché about 1980s rock star antics or satanic rituals,” says Ulrich.
Kopp had no prior connection to black metal.
“That was exactly what intrigued me, because I love discovering new worlds and life realities through acting. It was an exciting challenge to immerse myself in such a different environment and grow from it,” she notes.
“Music is always central to my preparation process. For every role I create playlists to capture the character’s emotions. With Luana, this worked perfectly, since I already knew what kind of music she listens to. It helped me connect with her world on a deeper level.”
Sold by Yellow Affair and produced by Dynamic Frame GmbH, “Wolves” – which debuted its trailer with Variety last week – is taking a look at a female perspective “within a largely male scene.”
“Especially in black metal. I wanted to show how they’re perceived and how relationships get complicated. From the start, we aimed to show both the good and the bad,” says Zurich-born Ulrich.
Intrigued by “people who aren’t what they first appear to be,” he started to look for the right actors “long before” the script was even finished.
“We mixed professional actors with real musicians to get the world right, which created a rough, alive chemistry on screen.”
Bielenia, soon to be seen in “The Time That Never Came,” is also an experienced stage actor. Kopp is making her acting debut.
“Luana makes some difficult and even wrong decisions over the course of the film. To portray her authentically, I needed to find a way into her motivations and emotions, which wasn’t always easy. But I came to understand her, and I believe the audience can as well,” she says.
Bielenia calls Wiktor a “very dark person.”
“In my mind, a lot of his problems, and his darkness, comes from his overwhelming solitude. He’s in a strange place, among strangers. He has no connection to his home or his family,” explains Bielenia.
Wiktor “clings to relationships as some kind of confirmation of his worth” and uses other people. But there are affectionate moments.
“Maybe there’s some hope for him? I always try to understand my character. We had added a story of Wiktor’s orphanhood and loneliness. He’s an uprooted tree. He only has himself.”
Bielenia notes: “In a climate of growing unrest and fascist movements, when even CEOs of large corporations sometimes give the Nazi salute, such gestures were difficult for us and only used as a last resort. But I think it’s worth showing how easy it is to fall into the trap of extreme ideology.”
“Wolves”
Courtesy of Zurich Film Festival