Voices of mass demonstration in Poland inspire this new folkloric animation

In the first moments of Horsetail, the urgent violin notes of Resina’s dynamic musical score begin and we are transported to a dark world inhabited by the devils and apparitions of Polish folklore. Although it feels like we have tumbled head-first into an otherworldly Slavic legend, Horsetail is actually inspired by some very recent events, director Mateusz Jarmulski tells us.

In January 2022 protesters took to the streets, decrying Poland’s top constitutional court’s verdict on tightening abortion laws. Protests erupted once again in November, when a woman died due to the delay of a potentially life-saving abortion. Inspired by the protests and Mona Chollet’s book Witches, Mateusz began dreaming up his film. He begins telling the story: “An independent woman, often alone, living on her own terms, outside of her community, is found to be a witch.” The narrative of a woman on the margins of society becoming “the scapegoat when blame is sought” is not a new one, Mateusz points out. But in Horsetail the story gets a retelling. Taking back her autonomy, “the victim becomes the oppressor and with the help of natural forces [...] she takes revenge.”

Throughout the film we get the sense that the story is being told by candlelight. The shadowy world inhabited by a “grotesque” range of “night-jars” and “devils” is intermittently thrown into flickering light by spitting fires or the torches of villagers chasing our fierce protagonist. This ghost-like, faceless figure takes many forms throughout the film – a bird, a stag, a snake. Strengthened by these natural forces the witch-woman gets her glorious, though some might say extreme (villagers are torn apart limb from limb or dropped from heights by giant birds), revenge.

Mateusz spent a careful month storyboarding the film before the eventual three-month period of sketching and creating the animation. Throughout the process, it was Resina’s music which guided Mateusz’s thinking. It helped him create structure – “The trance-like atmosphere, the escalating tension and the apocalyptic ending.” The chorus of voices which give the film its steady rhythm echo the enraged voices of women calling for body autonomy in the recent protests. Though the calls on the track sound urgent and human, Resina actually turned to electronic means rather than instruments and voices to make it. The finished product incorporates “strong elements of folk music – raw, dirty and primitive,” says the filmmaker. It was the “perfect fit”.

Looking to the future, Mateusz has got a lot on this plate. Having only just released Horsetail, he’s already working on another animated film. Between that and finishing his PhD somehow he’s also squeezing in the time to work with a screenwriter on a “bigger film”, he tells us. We look forward to seeing what exciting new story Mateusz will bring us next.