Last week, we had the wonderful opportunity to host two first-class casting directors at Kieślowski Film School: Nikki Barrett and Piotr Bartuszek.

In addition to the masterclass, students and actors had the opportunity to individually consult with the casting directors. As part of the visit, workshops that spanned several days were also held, which allowed students to put the knowledge they had gained into practice.

Nikki Barrett has been casting for Australian and international films and television shows for over 20 years. Her works include feature films such as "Elvis," "Talk To Me," "Thirteen Lives," "The Power of the Dog," "Ticket to Paradise," "Mad Max: Fury Road," "The Babadook," "Nitram," "Hacksaw Ridge," "I Am Mother," "Peter Rabbit," "The Proposition," "Mao's Last Dancer," "The Sapphires," "Somersault," "The Daughter," "The Railway Man,” and “Candy.”

Nikki recently completed work on George Miller's "Fury Road" prequel, "Furiosa," as well as Ron Howard's feature film, "Eden." Recent television work includes the upcoming series "Boy Swallows Universe" and Justin Kurzel's "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" with Jacob Elordi, Ciaran Hinds, and Odessa Young. Nikki has received BAFTA, AACTA, and a number of CGA awards and is a member of AMPAS.

Piotr Bartuszek has been associated with the film industry for twenty years. He has created casts for over ninety films and series and has collaborated on domestic and international productions. He is a member of the European Film Academy and a board member of the International Casting Directors Association (ICDA). He is also a co-founder of PCDG, founded in 2022.

We would like to thank Dr. Anna Huth for her initiative and coordination in organizing the event, ICDA as a co-organizer of the event, and Piotr Bartuszek himself.