‘Exotic’ Takes Us to Polish Pole Dance Camp to Tell a Female Story of Self-Discovery and Body Confidence

If you have been longing for a feature film about pole-dancing Poles, Exotic (Eksootika) is just what you were looking for! If you want to see a movie about self-discovery, body confidence, being exactly who you are and living life without asking permission, Exotic is also for you. Interested in a story about female friendship and belonging? Again, Exotic has got you covered. But even if you feel you would never care to catch a film about a writer’s attempt to master exotic pole dancing in a Polish beach resort, Exotic may well surprise you. The feature debut of writer-director Sonja Orlewicz-Zakrzewska, who is also a visual artist and photographer, is full of humor, self-doubt and vulnerability. Adding authenticity, Exotic was shot during a recent edition of the Exo Stars Camp, a pole-dancing camp in a Polish beach town, and includes real participants and instructors. The film will have its world premiere in the First Feature Competition of the 30th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) on Saturday, Nov. 14. The filmmaker attended the camp herself and felt there was a story to tell. “I was fascinated by the clash of the fragile, intimate universes we carried within us around the camp,” she says. “It soon became clear that the camp itself was a perfect place to confront fears, leave one’s comfort zone and express oneself more than daily life ever allows.” Exotic reflects that journey. It follows Mila, who is 30 and insecure. When her friend cancels on her, she reluctantly travels to a pole-dancing camp on the Polish coast alone, where she finds herself surrounded by confident dancers, skimpy costumes, high heels and a world that feels alien. But away from everyday life at home, her initial irony and unease give way to a journey of self-discovery. ‘Exotic’ Or as the PÖFF website teases: “Through demanding training, wild nights, awkward encounters, laughter, and intimate conversations, she discovers freedom, friendship, and a new relationship with herself.” Mozaika Films is the main production company behind Exotic. The producers are Magdalena Sztorc and Anna Zajaczkowska. The cast is led by Jasmina Polak. The cinematographer was Adam Suzin, with editing handled by Tomasz Kajetan Naruszewicz. Pluto Film is handling sales. Orlewicz-Zakrzewska talked to THR about mixing real-life experiences with fiction, how she made sure that her protagonist’s journey felt so believable and why pole dancing deserves a much better rep. In case you don’t believe that real life inspired Exotic, just listen to the filmmaker. “I’m a pole dancer. I’ve been pole dancing for four years now,” she tells THR. “The main character in the film is played by Jasmina Polak. She’s actually a very good friend of mine in private life, and we went to pole-dancing classes together. After one or two months, we found out about the camp and decided to go together. But it was Jasmina who canceled at the last moment.” So, Orlewicz-Zakrzewska attended the camp on her own. “Not everything in a film, but a lot of things you see are actually very much like my own experience and story,” she shares. “I did actually have those two roommates you see in the film, who were both kind of crazy in a different way. So, a lot of things there are inspired by reality.” ‘Exotic’ Orlewicz-Zakrzewska says she “fell in love with pole dancing right away.” And yes, she is aware that there still is a stigma attached to it. “There is a lot of it, and that’s why the pole-dancing community, all my girls, are really amazed by the fact that we shot this film,” she tells THR. “I did research about that and actually found out that it’s actually the first film that shows pole dance as a sport. There is no other full-length feature that shows the pole-dancing community as a sports community, as a hobby community rather than in a context of strip clubs.” What does she love about it? “There are so many things,” Orlewicz-Zakrzewska says. “First, it’s an amazing workout. Your core strength is insane. For me, the gym is so boring. I also really like the femininity in this dance. And the more strength you have, the more effortless and, in a sense, more feminine and graceful you look. And then in your mind, the strength links up with the feminine.” Exotic also shows the fun and party aspects that can come with the workouts. “I really love the fact that it has this entourage” and community spirit, explains Orlewicz-Zakrzewska. “The reason why I never explored it [before she started pole dancing] was that I was scared of judgment. I was scared of the patriarchal eye. There is a certain judgmental eye towards the pole-dancing community.” How about the skimpy outfits? “You do often wear almost nothing, which actually makes a lot of sense because of the sweat and because you need your skin to hold on,” the filmmaker explains. “And the high-heeled shoes actually make a lot of sense when doing the spins [or jumps].” And wearing these outfits and pole dancing opened her up to accepting a side of her that she was not willing to even consider before. “I have never been a girly girl,” shares Orlewicz-Zakrzewska. “I have always been a little bit intellectual and ran around with boys and climbed trees and so on. But I always had this other side in me, and [pole-dancing allowed me to] explore this more open form of femininity.” ‘Exotic’ Showcasing pole dancing and its community is something that excited the filmmaker and the folks at the camp. The writer-director actually knew right away that she would return to the post-Soviet hotel, where the camp takes place, with the camera. And she did. But how did she approach the shoot and getting the people at the camp involved? “Before it started, I told the participants [and instructors] that I wanted to shoot the film. Is everybody okay with that? If anybody’s not, just please say no,” Orlewicz-Zakrzewska recalls saying. “And imagine: nobody said no. Not a single person! Because they are performers, and most people in pole dancing are really open. So, they were really happy that we were doing this film and showing this community the way it really is.” So keep your eyes open for non-professional actors in Exotic! “All is scripted, but we were just putting our actresses and actors inside the actual situations, inside the actual classes,” the director explains. Exotic also features a 2007 clip of Jonas Mekas, the late Lithuanian filmmaker and poet who has been called “the godfather of American avant-garde cinema,” defending Paris Hilton. He argued that society has become too negative and skeptical to believe that people can actually change. Which gets us to the question of Mila’s change in Exotic. Her transformation is neither instantaneous nor dramatic, and that is by design. The filmmaker recalls her experience at Exo Stars Campo. “It’s just really, really intense, you are outside of your everyday social bubble and you really have to confront the question of how you want to be perceived by others,” Orlewicz-Zakrzewska tells THR. “It’s about both your relationship with yourself and also your relationship with the people you meet. So there are mechanisms that help you grow internally and reflect. But at the same time, nothing really happens because it’s just a sports camp. There are limitations to the massiveness of the internal journey.” ‘Exotic’ Her conclusion: “It’s not that a real revolution is going to happen there. But there is maybe the seed of the revolution that you are going to carry on with you.” Exotic is Orlewicz-Zakrzewska’s first feature film, but it wasn’t supposed to be. “I was actually working on two other big projects before, but this one happened to get finished first,” she tells THR, adding with a laugh. “Maybe the reason why Exotic was produced as the first one is that it’s the most ‘normal’ thing I ever wrote. All the other things are much crazier.” So, what’s next for her? “I’m working on two other feature films and a series,” Orlewicz-Zakrzewska says. “But all of these things are in development.” It will be interesting to see if her next project has a short title, just like Exotic, or a really long one. After all, the title of her debut feature went through an evolution. “What’s funny is that with the titles for the things I write, it’s always either a full, super-long sentence or just one word. It’s never in between,” Orlewicz-Zakrzewska explains. And she shares the first title she had for Exotic, and it is indeed long: If the World Is Round, I Don’t Know What It Means to Be Ahead.