Thursday 13 October 2016

BLESK TV MAGAZINE INTERVIEW - ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Ewa Farna: A man gave me some underwear and keys from his apartment. I was 15 years old!

She’s 23 years old but she’s been working for 10 years now. Ewa Farna started her career at 12 years old and she didn’t quit as many child stars do. She says: „I need to show people that I’m not a child anymore. I grew up.“

Right before she left to visit the United States she came to meet us, wearing a shining ring on her hand. and her Facebook name changed to Emma Chobot. Did she really get married in the US? No, she denied that. That ring is not an engagement ring and she was using that fake name on Facebook, because her profile always got blocked when she used her real name. Ewa Farna just stays miss Ewa Farna.

You’ve been working for 10 years now, which is fantastic considering your age. How would you sum up those 10 years?

It was beautiful, amazing, but sometimes hard. But if I should really sum it up shortly, I’d say it was the best school of life and a huge preparation for life that I don’t regret.

Have you ever felt like you lost your childhood for your career?

I don’t feel like I’ve lost it, it just was a little bit different. I went to three of my friend’s parties instead of ten, I went twice to have  pizza with them instead of fifteen times. That’s true, but when I think about it, I have to say life brought me much more than it took from me. That’s why I’m happy and why I want to continue doing it.

So you haven’t ever felt sorry when your friends went to a party and you couldn’t join them?

Of course I have, terribly sometimes. I even cried a few times, for example when I couldn’t attend my friend’s birthday party. I’ve always told my friend if they could plan all these events a half of a year ahead and if it could be any day but weekends (laughs). But thanks to all this I’m now more capable of organising my time. When I really want to go somewhere now, I find time for that.

Many child stars couldn’t handle the fame. Who helped you not to go crazy about it?

I didn’t find it too hard to stay grounded. I didn’t go crazy because people recognised me on the streets and because I started to earn money early. My parents helped me of course, and I always reminded myself that I’m just an ordinary person and the fact that someone yelled „I love you“ at me didn’t mean anything. It’s psychically quite hard and it can easily destroy people who don’t have the balls.  It didn’t happen to me though and hopefully never will.

You probably have the balls.

I was just raised well. (laughs) That’s really Important for me. I haven’t ever really felt the need to rebel.

Not even in puberty?

I guess I didn’t really have one. I always appreciated what my parents had to give up so I could do what I love, so I haven’t even think about rebelling against them. I haven’t got the tendency to fight them, it felt so ungrateful to be mean to them. Maybe the puberty was showing in other ways, I’m not sure. Of course there were times when my mom told me that I couldn’t go out with my friend, because my room was a mess, when I just got back from a concert with an unpacked bags. Those times I was mad that I had to go out two hours later. (laughs) But nothing serious happened. I’ve always had really good relationship with my parents, they were always by my side.

Have they always support you in your career?

Certainly yes. I don’t mean that they always pushed me somewhere and wanted to implement their unfulfilled ambitions, no. They always told me, that the most important thing is to be psychically okay and that if I don’t want to do something, then I shouldn’t do it. It wasn’t like when I got an offer from Playboy, they would go like: great, go for it, we can build a garage for the money. (laughs) It sounds ridiculous, but from what I saw in Polish X-Factor, many parents would really sell their children to anyone.

That Playboy offer really happened though, didn’t it?

It did, twice actually. One from Czech and one from Polish Playboy. First offer came right after I turned 18. And they were really surprised when I refused. One time I would like to shoot some tasteful nudes, but only for my husband. Definitely not for a magazine that anyone can buy. I’m not judging it, some of those pictures are really nice and every girl should decide that by themselves. Some of them will later show their grandchildren how hot they were when they were younger. But I’d rather show mine some pictures from the scene, instead of showing how good my boobs looked like. (laughs)

You say that your parents supported you. Have they ever discouraged you?

That moment happened too. It was right at the beginning of my career, I found some hate going on my song Měls mě vůbec rád. Back then I found out people writing some really awful things – that I won’t last long, that I should go back to Poland and much worse things that I would be ashamed of saying out loud. And I read all of this back then and I broke down. I stopped going to school, I was afraid going out and meeting people, my hands were shaking so much I couldn’t even hold a pen. So my parents said no. They meet with my manager and talked about what to do, because nothing is worth seeing their child like that.  So they forbid me to read all these things and told me that people can be mean, which I couldn’t understand. But I stopped reading it and I still don’t, it’s useless.

As you got popular and successful, you also got to make more money than most of people your age. Do you know how to handle that?

Thank God, I didn’t have to deal with it for a long time. I say thank God, because it helped me to stay on the ground. I was getting pocket money just like others. Even when I turned 18 and I could handle my money myself, I didn’t because I didn’t want to. Young person could easily go crazy because of that. My parents are both economists, so thanks to them and thanks to what I saw they were doing I kind of figured it out myself. But I also read some books about it, I wasn’t afraid to ask my parents what to do, I didn’t think about money as a unspeakable topic. In one hand you have money but in the other you have to know how to handle it. I know I’m only 22 years old, I don’t have a house or a family, I want both of these things and I need to save money for them. One day I want to not think about which butter is cheaper, I want my child to go to a great school. Sure, I’m earning money, but I still can mess it up, and I really don’t want to.

And how do you handle the fact that many people go crazy about you?

They don’t!

You may think so, but it’s unimaginable for many people. And it’s probably not always that nice.

Not always. I needed to tell a few fans that what they do is a little bit too much, I can do that. (laughs) But in general it’s really nice, I appreciate it a lot. Always when I get back from a meet up with my fans, I’m moved. Most of them is amazing and kind and I know it all wouldn't be possible without them. You can have a great team and a great voice, but if there’s no one to support you, it’s useless. But there are also some psycho fans. One man once gave me underwear and a keys from his house. I was fifteen and he around thirty-five. It was really crossing a line, but at least I have a story to tell. (laugh)

It would be too much now too, when you’re no longer fifteen years old. Do you manage to step out from the „child star“ box?

It’s hard and I’m now having a phase, when I want to tell people I’m not a child anymore, that I grew up. It’s a kind of a rebirth, transformation, but a loose one, I don’t wanna go all extreme. I don’t really like the way Miley Cyrus did it – to rebel, show yourself naked everywhere, to show people that your boobs got bigger. That’s actually very childish calling for help. I want to show people in a different way.

 Your new, grown up video clip came out recently, promoting the song Na ostří nože, and people talked about it a lot, because many famous people are starring in it, along with Jaromír Jágr…

That with Mr. Jágr was a coincidence, I texted him without knowing him personally, I didn’t even hope for it to work. I just wanted to aim high, he really fits to the theme of the song. Well, it paid off, a reply – which i still have in my phone – came, saying: Hi, great song, I like it. I’m really busy next week, but we can work it out. I was really shocked. So we shot it, which I still don’t understand, I still find it unbelievable, when I watch the clip. I’m really happy that it worked out, but I’m also happy about other guests, such as Mandrage, Tomáš Klus, Klára Vytisková, Libor Bouček, Jiří Mádl etc. It’s a clip from my dreams and I’m really proud of it.

Obviously friendship can form in show business as well. You found not only friends there, but also your boyfriends…

Yes, I did, but it’s logical, because that’s a place I spend most of my time at. So where else should I meet them?

Can you imagine having a normal student as your boyfriend?

Of course I can. Sometimes it would be probably better, because I could totally turn my head off while being at home and rest, not thinking about work. That could be great, I never wanted to date only musicians. But it always worked out that way. But it has its pros as well, because these people understand you, they know what it takes to do this kind of job, that I have to work on weekends… And they understand that it’s really a job.

What do you mean?

Many people from other spheres doesn’t understand, some of my friends ask me when finally am I getting a real job or going to study. They are taking classes, I’m shooting a photo shoot, someone does my make up, then I do interview, or doing rehearsals with my band… That’s not a job for them.

Aren’t you mad because of that?

I’m more sad actually, mostly because of my parents. Our neighbours are coming to them asking when will their daughter finally get some normal job. An hour on a stage in Saturday, you look pretty, make a lot of money, and when you sweat, you don’t smell, and then you have a week off. (laugh)
That’s what they mostly think. For many people, if you don’t sit in a office for 8 hours a day, when you don’t do what makes you happy for living, and at 5 pm you go home, then you don’t work. I don’t want to throw shade on that, I respect it, but my job looks different. And if your job will be your favourite activity, you won’t spend a day at work. That’s what I wish everybody could have.

Let’s get back to your boyfriend Martin Chobot. a guy from your band. You live together, work together…

We are together really often. In the three years we weren’t apart for more than five days. (laugh)

And you’re not getting on each other’s nerves?

Of course it’s important to manage it to not get on your nerves, in every relationship. Which is probably harder for my Martin than it is for me. (laughs). It’s amazing from me to get out off of stage, where I put out my best, and have there someone who you can share that moment with, who hugs you. Some time ago I actually felt alone – you are on the stage, people are clapping, screaming, some of them are saying that they love you… But then nothing, you are on your hotel room on your own. You can’t call your mom, it’s too late and everybody is already asleep, your friends are hundreds of kilometres away. You don’t have anyone to share all these big, unusual emotions. Now I live my private life right after work, not many days after.

Are you planning to move on? Wedding, children…

If you’re referring to this ring (pointing at her ring on her finger), than it’s definitely not an engagement one. But even if I planned something, I wouldn’t say it publicly, so… (laughs)

You say it with such a smile on your face, I would almost thing you actually are planning something!

That’s more likely because I always find it funny, how much you need to talk about these things. I’m not planning anything. And as I said – I love my job and my fans, but there are things I don’t want to share with them. 

Thanks to Tereza for the translation.

Saturday 1 October 2016

NEW COVER PIC


From Blesk TV magazine (Cze) which i believe is a TV listings magazine.