'Are all priests gay?" and six more questions to the director of In The Name Of

In cinemas this week: In the Name of, an old-fashioned solid Polish drama about a priest who tries in vain to escape his homosexuality through celibacy. He works in a village in the province with difficult-to-educate teenagers. "I would like to fuck all those boys," he exclaims

in a moment of despair. At its premiere last year in Berlin, filmmaker Malgoska Szumowska (Elles) more about it.

Why this story?

"Four years ago, I came across a newspaper report about a boy who had killed a priest. There was a lot of talk about that, no one understood why. Was homosexuality involved? Abuse? The case interested me, but I didn't want to make a film about paedophilia or abuse, nor attack the church directly. I want to love my protagonist. To understand him and not condemn him. You can hardly imagine how lonely such an existence is. Priests I speak to tell me it is often difficult."

Catholic Church and homosexuality, is this new for Poland?

"There wasn't a film like this yet. But the subject is in the spotlight these days. Priests getting out, for instance because they want to get married, is a hot topic."

Is the church's position in Poland changing?

"Yes indeed. In communist times, the church had a very different role and was on the side of critics of the system. Now the church is in the conservative corner. Its influence is declining, but 90 per cent of Poles are still Catholic."

The final image almost suggests that all priests are gay. A provocation?

"A Polish journalist thought that last scene was unnecessary. But we had tried that in editing and it was weak. It's not a deliberate provocation, but I don't want to bury my head in the sand. The ending should be powerful and dramatic, not sentimental. I leave the interpretation to the viewer. But it does indeed happen that the boyfriend of a gay priest goes to the seminary to be able to maintain the relationship."

Many scenes are almost documentary - is that intentional?

"Yes, it was shot in a region of Poland that I know well from my childhood. Very poor and claustrophobic. My first film was a documentary I made there. With In the Name of I go back to my roots. Many of the boys in the film are also from that village."

'Faggot' and 'Jew' are ahead of them as swear words.

"That's right. My little son also participated in that. I spoke to him strongly about that. There is a lot of ignorance."

The church does not come off very well. Yet one of the priest's sermons, on the divine essence that makes us all equal, is very moving.

"That text was written by a real priest, who also acted as a consultant for the film. Some priests were surprisingly benevolent and open, I can assure you."