Congrats! PRAY goes to Eurovision!
I woke up to great news this Sunday – Alicja will represent us at Eurovision with PRAY. Here’s some backstage shots from the music video.
This shoot was originally supposed to happen in December, but (thankfully) it kept getting postponed.
Eventually it became my first job of 2026 – in January, when I was still fully in my winter hibernation mode.
January 21st. Ciechanów. The day before, I travelled from my hometown to Warsaw so I could reach the location early on Wednesday morning.
7:12 AM: on my way to Ciechanów, it was extremely cold and beautiful
The morning light was delightful. The sun slowly appeared on the horizon – cold, pale, winter sun.
I hadn’t worked with Alicja or most of her team before, but somehow it didn’t feel like a first meeting. She welcomed me warmly and the atmosphere felt instantly relaxed.
My task on set was simple: shoot a backstage video and take some promo pics.
I love jobs like this... I just need to be where interesting things are happening, document everything that feels worth capturing, and stay alert for moments, no massive responsibility, just observation.
8:10 AM: first outfit almost ready!
The stylist for the shoot was Dominik Więcek. It was freezing outside, so Alicja had to wear a huge fur coat, at one point she joked that she looked like Snoop Dogg after twenty years in Ciechanów.
Honestly – iconic already.
But there was no time to admire the look for too long.
A group of senior ladies was already waiting outside the church, and they were freezing.
getting ready for the first shot – Ala surrounded by her cute support team
Around 8:30 we drove to the church for the first shots.
An army of friendly older ladies was waiting outside. Later we would move inside the church, but for now we were just capturing a few exterior scenes. The winter sun created a beautiful atmosphere, but the cold was brutal, so everything had to move quickly.
Everyone was in a great mood.
And this is the moment when I heard PRAY for the first time.
The hip-hop section instantly stuck in my head – it kept looping in my brain for the rest of the day <3
Martyna Byczkowska, the director of the video
we're done, time to move back to school!
After finishing outside the church, I did some quick interviews with the ladies and we went back to the school building to warm up, change outfits, and grab breakfast. Quick coffee. Then Alicja’s former teacher appeared with two plates of cake.
at this point I didn't expect the cake to be a masterpiece
I’m not exaggerating – it might have been the best cake I’ve ever had. 
Naturally, I asked for the recipe.
Naturally, it’s a family secret. 
So to this day I still have no idea how that cake was made :(((((((
THE. BEST. CAKE. EVER.
Alicja and Łukasz <3
After the short break we headed back to the church.
The ladies were already waiting inside – thankfully it was a bit warmer now.
Time to continue.
Church was looking magical, and pretty godly in a sense
The interior scenes were important – the music video actually starts there, so everything had to work.
This is also where I met a little girl who appears in the video as “young Alicja.”
A girl with big dreams, inspired by her future self.
It was still cold, there were many shots to capture, but the atmosphere stayed light. Between takes people wandered around, talked, waited, warmed their hands. Film sets always have a strange rhythm like that, and a lot of waiting ofc.
Alicja and her support team, now inside
one of the highlights of the day – seeing my friend Oli as an altar server
cuties Daria and Adam – I spent most of the day with them
1:46 PM and we're ready to leave
We wrapped the church scenes around 13:45. More than three hours had passed.
Next stop: the school locations.
braids of course took some time to be finished
First – the sports hall, where Alicja filmed the dancing scenes.
She appeared in long braids and a striking red outfit. Instant Rihanna halftime show energy, I felt like we were dealing with a superstar (which was absolutely tru)!!!
Martyna supervises the dancing scene
superstar mode: activated
the girls learned the choreo in no time!
rolling a little something for a break
The gym scenes went smoothly and were finished within about an hour.
At 4 PM dinner finally arrived – which was perfect timing because everyone was already starving.
lunch time!
Ala's photo on her school tablo
Next location: the school basement.
Here Alicja appeared as a living sculpture, wearing a metallic armor-inspired look. Clearly, armor aesthetics are still trending.
I don’t have many photos from this part of the shoot. The space was tight, the camera crew needed room, and by this point people were getting a bit tired and focused on their missions.
Oli modelling for the right angle of the camera
looking iconic on the way back from the basement
We wrapped the basement around 18:30.
The silver look was incredible.
Now I had a dilemma: should I go home, or stay for the final location?
The last scene was supposed to take place in a small apartment so it'd be hard to contain everyone. But...
Of course I stayed. If I started documenting the day, I wanted to finish it.
Ala's sister, Ola!
We're ready to go to the apartment.
Ala and her "younger self" from the video, she was sooo cute
#prayforeurovision
The apartment was tiny, so the only way to work was to become invisible – basically a ghost with a camera.
Inside, Alicja was filming scenes with her grandma.
You could feel how proud she was of her.
Most of the crew waited outside in the corridor. At some point a neighbour got very angry that we dared to talk there, so suddenly everyone had to whisper.
Film set meets Polish apartment building energy.
loitering in the corridor was fun
almost there! only scenes in the mini house are left to be shot
Slowly the atmosphere shifted – the exciting feeling that the day was coming to an end, and everyone did a great job.
We took a team photo.
By 22:30 we were finally done.
Still a long ride back to Warsaw ahead.
But the drive turned out to be lovely – I gave a lift to the MUA Olga and hairstylist Adam. We talked, laughed and listened to music the whole way.
discussing the next steps
everyone had to be documented as we were wrapping up!
the kitchen had strong vibes
Martyna mastering the last shot
Ala in the tiny room – the last shot!
like above, but here's a side view
almost there!
TEAM PIC <3333
Martyna and Ala looking flawless after 10 hours of shooting
This year I realised something important:
January is not a work month.
January is a hibernation month.
A long, slow landing after Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
But this day didn’t feel like work at all.
It felt like spending time with insanely talented, beautiful people – and doing the thing I enjoy most: documenting moments.
Thank you Ala, thank you everyone.
And seriously, congrats!!! You made it!!!!!
yo and thanks for reading!
