Filming began for “Shopping Arcade”, a new soap produced by ATM Grupa S.A. for TVP1. Set in a shopping arcade, the series has hit potential because of the popularity of shopping arcades in Poland.
Professor Tomasz Szlendak, a sociologist at Nicolaus Copernicus University and author of a publication on the subject, points out that shopping arcades have been a huge success in Poland. He argues that they have become centers of life from Bielsko-Biała to Tri-City, and are springing up even in smaller cities: “Poles like to ‘just be’ somewhere, which is why shopping arcades trump cultural events and other places where you cannot just sit for a while, walk around and watch other people while munching on a waffle”, explains Szlendak. “Shopping arcades have an edge over local clubs, opera houses, concert halls, theaters, even movie theaters and eateries in city centers. They provide a focus for Polish life on weekends and afternoons”, adds Szlendak. Shopping malls have all but replaced reading rooms, community centers, pedestrian precincts, and waiting rooms in train and bus stations. Szlendak claims that especially busy Poles with limited free time try to pack all possible entertainment experiences into a single place and the shortest possible time: “Shopping arcades are ideally suited to fulfill this need”, claims Szlendak. “There is ‘everything for everybody’ under one roof – like in Manufaktura in Łódź – these are the only places where everybody will come. A single complex contains pubs, restaurants, retail stores, discos, museums, a large outdoor screen in the middle of the square showing games of the Polish national soccer team, multi-screen movie theater, bowling alley, billiards areas, playgrounds, and fitness rooms. It is a roofed mega-fair, one that can be explored in a few hours”, adds the sociologist.
The creators of “Shopping Arcade” hope that Poles will take a shine to the new series, if only because of their penchant for shopping malls. They say it will be daring and in keeping with current trends, present-day society and its problems. The titular shopping arcade reflects modern Poland, which will help viewers identify with the characters. The characters will be pursuing their ambitions, suffer dilemmas, and meet with family and friends. One of them is Karolina, a young go-getter, who has returned to Poland after studying in Milan, Italy. She wants to open a store selling unique jewelry. But when she is about to sign a lease contract, her world crumbles. She loses her mother and all her savings, and like many young Polish women, has to get a job in a mall. Karolina will be played by Magdalena Turczeniewicz, who will specially come from France to play this part. In addition, the series will feature daring themes and stories such as love despite everything and love for purely pecuniary reasons, true and self-interested friendship, infidelity and thirst for revenge. The arcade will witness clashing ambitions, a struggle for power and money, rivalry, addictions, and jealousy – all of which will figure large in the lives of the shopping arcade owner Tadeusz Woydatt (Tomasz Dedek), his daughter Anita (Julia Pietrucha), and his stepson Adam (Bartosz Porczyk). The characters are full-bloodied, sharply drawn and emotional. Other cast members include: Marek Kalita, Ewa Bukowska, Joanna Orleańska, Marek Frąckowiak, Maciej Wojdyła, Paulina Chapko, Błażej Michalski, Andrzej Deskur, Szymon Piotr Warszawski, Karolina Piechota, and Matylda Kawczak. Celebrated rappers Vienio (Piotr Węcławski) and Waldemar Kasta will make guest appearances. The series will be helmed by Ryszard Zatorski (lead director), whose directorial credits include “Why Not!”, “Just Love Me”, “Two Killers”, “For Better and for Worse”, “L for Love”, and “Criminal Detectives”. He will be aided by director Łukasz Palkowski, acclaimed for “Preserve” and the series “39 and a Half”.
