Casting Directing Group at Film Spring Open!
We invite you to take part in a unique two-day programme dedicated to casting directing. The group will work on 19–20 October.
19.10.2026
“Who Is the Character? How to Talk About a Character We Create Together During the Casting Process”
What does it mean for a creative team to “create a character together” — from the first description in the screenplay, through different interpretations, to the final casting decisions?
How can we talk about a character so that the different perspectives of the screenwriter, director, producer, casting director and actor can meet without closing off interpretive possibilities too early?
The lecture is aimed primarily at screenwriters, directors, producers and actors.
“How to Plan Casting – from Development to Final Cast Selection”
This is a discussion focused on a specific project, during which the initial vision of the characters will be translated into a strategy for finding the right performers for the roles and into a preliminary casting schedule.
We will look at what the team is already certain about, what remains open, and which casting-related decisions are worth making before the actual search begins.
Approx. 30-minute consultation between the casting directors and the creators of the submitted project — director, producer and screenwriter — following the prior submission of a film and character description and a treatment.
Maximum: 8 projects.
20.10.2026
“Multiple Interpretations of the Same Character – Character Analysis During Screen Tests”
The workshop will offer a practical look at how meeting a particular actor can influence our understanding of a character.
Working on one scene and several interpretations of the same character, we will explore what can change and what should remain constant for us to still be talking about the same character — and how these differences influence casting decisions.
Duration: approx. 3–4 hours, working on a selected scene.
Julia Popkiewicz – Casting director. Screenwriter. Director.
Graduate of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Wrocław and Directing at the University of Silesia, as well as Doctoral Studies in Cultural Sciences at the University of Wrocław.
Her book “Casting. The First Meeting of an Actor-Director” (2017) published by the film publishing house Wojciech Marzec is the first and only Polish book dealing with the topic of casting direction in Polish film.
As a casting director, she created such films as: “Kajtek Czarodziej” by Magdalena Łazarkiewicz, “Absolute Beginners” by Kamila Tarabura and Kasia Warzecha, “Śubuk” by Jacek Lusiński, “Sonata” by Bartosz Blaschke, “80 Million” by Waldemar Krzystek, “Sala samobójców” by Jan Komasa, “W imię…” Małgośka Szumowska or “Volta” by Juliusz Machulski. She prepared the cast for international productions such as ‘I, Olga Hepnarova’ dir. by Tomás Weinreb, Petr Kazda, ‘Mother’ dir. by Lee Mackintosch Jones or ‘Strawberry Days’ dir. by Wiktora Ericsson.
Her screenwriting debut was directed by Kasia Adamik and Olga Chajdas as part of the first series of Deep Water, for which she also prepared the cast.
She is currently working on a documentary film. “Urzeczony światem szerokim. Śladami Alfreda Jahna”, which was supported by an artistic scholarship from the Mayor of Wrocław in the programme for young filmmakers, and is preparing for her feature-length debut.
Member of the Cast Directors Guild, the Polish Filmmakers Association and the Polish Folklore Society.
Certified Tree Inspector. Graduate of the “Green Leader” of the Sendzimir Foundation and the School of Leaders. Chairwoman of the Przesieczanki community centre.
Privately, mother of Józefina, Alfred and Florence and wife of film operator Szymon Kurzawa.
Katarzyna Gryciuk-Krzywda is a casting director with many years of experience in the film industry and a member of the Polish Casting Directors Guild. She is responsible for casting a wide range of projects, from auteur cinema to major streaming and television productions.
Her filmography includes casting direction for the Netflix series 1670, for which she received the Best Casting Direction Award at the BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon. She has also achieved festival success with projects produced by Munk Studio – for No Ghosts on Good Street, she received an award at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia. She was also responsible for casting the feature film LARP. Miłość, trolle i inne questy, the international production Lipstick on the Glass, as well as titles such as Baby Bump, Too Old for Fairy Tales and Black Daisies.
She works with both adult and child actors and has a strong track record of discovering new talent.
Her approach is based on partnership and collaboration. Her background in photography gives her a strong sense of framing and visual composition, while her experience as a yoga teacher, certified by Yoga Point India, helps her incorporate elements of breathwork and body awareness into the casting process.
She looks for psychological truth in actors and makes every effort to create a safe environment during auditions, helping performers manage stress and open up naturally in front of the camera.
in English 
in French 
in German 