Five Raindance Revelations with Pawel Podolski for ‘Life for Beginners’

Vampires have spent decades lurking in the shadows of cinema, usually portrayed as seductive predators, tragic romantics or creatures of pure terror. Life for Beginners takes a rather different approach. Making its UK premiere at Raindance Film Festival today, Pawel Podolski’s genre-blending debut introduces audiences to a shy, socially awkward vampire whose greatest challenge is not hunting humans, but convincing a fellow vampire that eternal life might still be worth living.

Nominated for the festival’s Roger Corman Award for Best Horror Feature, the Polish production combines horror, comedy and romance in a story that asks surprisingly profound questions about loneliness, mortality and human connection. Set over the course of a single night, Life for Beginners follows Monia as she finds herself caught between a suicidal vampire desperate to end his existence and a terminally ill young man who refuses to give up on life. The result is a fresh and unexpectedly touching spin on vampire mythology that swaps gothic excess for humour, heart and existential reflection.

Ahead of the film’s UK debut, we caught up with writer-director Pawel Podolski for our latest edition of Five Raindance Revelations, where he discusses the films that inspired him, the creative figures he’d most like to collaborate with, and the unexpected discoveries he made about himself while bringing his unusual vampire tale to the screen.

Pawel Podolski writer-director of ‘Life for Beginners’

1. Tell us about your film and why you felt Raindance would be a great place to unleash it on London and the UK.

Life for Beginners is a peculiar thing—part comedy, part romance, part horror… It was created, as befits a horror-related work, out of fear. Not so much fear of monsters as fear of life itself. I mean, if we’re afraid of monsters—vampires, for example—then what are vampires afraid of? Aside from the sun, of course. What if the vampire is shy and socially awkward? We couldn’t have imagined a better place for our British premiere than Raindance—a festival celebrating everything that’s new, different, strange, peculiar, and—at least for me—exciting in cinema. Because at the end of the day, if you’re telling the story of a shy female vampire who can’t seem to live her life but has to convince her depressed suicidal vampire friend not to kill himself (and dozen innocent people)… if not at Raindance, then where?

2. What moment made you realise you wanted to create films, not just watch them?

I don’t think it was a single moment, but rather a series of events that took place over the years. I remember a few things from my childhood: my first visit to a musical theater (when I was 7) made me realise that I was more interested in what was happening behind the scenes than in the performance itself. When I was 10, I started filming trailers for movies (that did not exist) with my brother, and I felt better than ever; eventually, in high school, I came across Walter Murch’s book *In the Blink of an Eye*. Reading that book made me start thinking about film seriously, and I decided to apply to film school.

3. What’s one film that fundamentally changed the way you think about cinema?

There isn’t just one. But I remember that watching Harmony and Me (dir. Bob Byington) really gave me a huge boost. The main character, the humour, the way it was filmed and produced—everything was screaming: “Get off the couch and go make movies” in my ear.

4. If you could collaborate with anyone in film history, who would unlock the most exciting project for you?

I’m obligated to say: Roger Corman 🙂 But honestly I really miss those cool indie comedies from early 2000’s, so I’ll go with Duplass Brothers. Feels wrong to say that, cause they’re still alive, but they have been a huge inspiration for me.

5. What’s something making this film revealed about yourself that you didn’t know before?

I didn’t know I could do night shifts. We shot mostly at night, so I kind of got the vibe of being a vampire. Clumsy, socially awkward vampire. I’m still me, after all.

Like its central characters, Life for Beginners seems less interested in the mechanics of immortality than in the messy business of being human. By mixing comedy, horror and romance with an offbeat charm all its own, the film demonstrates how genre cinema can tackle life’s biggest questions without losing its sense of fun.

For Podolski, the project represents both a personal and creative milestone, blending influences that stretch from independent American cinema to classic vampire folklore. If his answers here reveal anything, it is a filmmaker drawn to stories about outsiders, dreamers and people trying to find their place in the world. Fittingly, Life for Beginners arrives at Raindance as a film that feels entirely comfortable being a little different.

Life for Beginners trailer