You are now a partner of the 6th edition of PYD. It is a great pleasure to have you among the brands supporting our initiative. Why did you decide to engage in a competition for young filmmakers?
Ula Czerniawska (Brand Manager): Coca-Cola is without a doubt an iconic brand. It is also one of very few global brands that have impacted the daily life of their consumers in such a powerful way. The fact that we operate on such a huge scale, makes it possible for us to support young people and artists (a great example is the Papaya Young Directors competition), but also means that we have to act with a huge sense of responsibility. Being an icon does not end with having a globally recognized logo, it is about creating reality together with our consumers and young filmmakers are great partners in this mission.

Coca-Cola is about togetherness. What kind of stories are important to your brand?
UC: The times we live in are the peak of technological and civilizational progress. Our environment, quality of life and social relations have changed a great deal during the last 100 years. Nevertheless, we still witness cultural clashes and a rise of separatism. Especially in Europe we can see that as a society we are divided more than we have ever been. Despite that, consumers around the world appreciate the flavor of Coca-Cola regardless of their age, gender, profession, political and social views. Around the world, a shared meal, with Coca-Cola as beverage, is an occasion to connect people and to help them "break the ice". We want to show people that we can achieve more if we take care of the relationships we form with others. But the only way we can achieve our goal is if we tell genuine stories that feel natural to our consumers - as a brand we do not want to create an idealized, unrealistic vision of the world. We believe that the most valuable stories are the ones that talk about the emotions we experience everyday.

What advice would you give to the young filmmakers who decide to answer to your brief and submit an explication?
UC: I already talked about it, but let me stress it one more time - we definitely encourage ideas that are based on genuine, daily experience of the contestants. We want to move the hearts of our consumers because we believe that this is the only way to cause real social change and a reflective moment among our consumers. We direct our message to young people, our target group are peers of the PYD contestants - you know best what your everyday life looks like.

The other important thing to remember is positive emotions. Our values, which are what makes millions of people around the world love us are: joy, optimism and happiness - we believe that a positive message builds positive behavior. Look for stories that are truly moving, but that also put a smile on your face. Only a smile and a positive emotion can help you build relationships that will last for a long time and that will connect people, not divide them.
Apart from that - have faith in your intuition, believe in your ideas, believe in your style and sense of aesthetics - we believe in you and cannot wait to see your works on the big screen!

What kind of themes are you hoping to see in the finalists' films during the gala?
UC: We are hoping to see the tensions that occur daily in the relationships of the contestants, their friends, family members or neighbors. The other thing that we are hoping to see is a depiction of Coca-Cola in the context of shared meals, which are a perfect occasion to shorten the distance between people. We are hoping to see content that would make your eyes tear up and make you change your perspective on the value of shared meals. Last, but not least, we are hoping that the films we see will make us, people responsible for Coca-Cola's marketing in Poland, think "Hell yeah, only Coke can do it!" and make us want to show them to our consumers.