A producer of the most talked-about movies of recent years such as “The Father”, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” and “Conclave”. Alice Dawson was a juror in the “Making Way” Main Competition during Mastercard OFF CAMERA 2025. Since she was present in Cracow during the festival, we asked her a few questions about her Oscar-winning production, her thoughts on nominated movies and impressions about the whole event.
How do you feel about your most recent movie, “Conclave”, aligning with the current events?
It’s interesting that the book we adapted was written in 2016 and the previous conclave was in 2013, so Robert Harris must have been aware of that event. It’s purely by chance that we’ve made the movie and not that long after the release, we’re going into the next conclave.
The timing is indeed significant. Do you think that because of the movie, people will be more interested in real conclave?
That’s possible. I also believe that because of the actual conclave, people will be more interested in the movie.
The movie received an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay – what does this award mean for you, as a producer?
It’s a great honour to receive the award – our screenwriter, Peter Straughan, is a very talented man. The original work is also wonderful: it’s a pacey thriller that’s both funny and full of depth, and Peter’s done an incredible job adapting it. It’s fantastic when you read a screenplay that makes you feel like reading a book. He truly deserved this award and I am thrilled for him.
Besides “Conclave”, you have worked on many movies and some TV series as well. Is there any project that you enjoyed the most?
I’ve enjoyed most of the films and TV projects I’ve worked on. I worked with Florian Zeller on his debut movie, “The Father”, which went on to win two Oscars and two BAFTA awards. It was a beautiful little film, which was also an adaptation of a theatre piece, and I think it came out really, really well. And now I’m working with Florian again on his next movie. We just had an announcement in Deadline yesterday – we’re making a movie with Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, in which they are playing a married couple. We’re hoping to shoot it later this year or early next year.
We’ll be looking forward to this project. Now let’s talk about your role at Mastercard OFF CAMERA: you’re on of the judges in the main competition “Making Way”. What are your impressions on nominated movies?
It was a very wide and international variety of movies. None of the films were in English, which was very refreshing. So we had 10 movies from completely different places, and I think it was a very strong selection. Mastercard OFF CAMERA has done a wonderful job giving us these 10 particular movies to watch, so it was really difficult to make a decision.
And what do you think about the festival in general?
I’m enjoying it very much, it’s such an honour to be here. Everybody has been so helpful and friendly, and Cracow is such a beautiful city. The weather’s been incredible too, which makes the whole festival even better.
It’s great that you enjoy the city – did you have a chance to do some sightseeing?
I’m hoping to do some later on today and maybe a little bit tomorrow. I’m very lucky my daughter is here as well, so we’re going to explore the city together. I have never been to Poland before, so I had no idea that you have this beautiful city. It reminds me a little bit of Berlin, although it definitely has its own charm – there’s so much history here. I’m also staying in this wonderful hotel which Copernicus used to visit. So it’s an amazing city and my only regret is that I’m not here for longer.
Aleksandra Kubas
photo Filip Radwański