The drama about the Polish political leader and co-creator of the Solidarity movement is one of the most eagerly awaited Polish productions. Produced by Akson Studio (www.akson-studio.pl) with a budget of over 15 million PLN, the film is set to launch into production this November. The producer informed FNE that the details of the shoot location and the shooting sequence has not yet been determined.

Since Wajda's announcement about his next project, the Polish media have been speculating about which actor will be cast in the role of Lech Wałęsa. Currently the two main candidates are Borys Szyc, a recent winner of the Best Actor award at the Montreal IFF for his role in The Mole, and Robert Więckiewicz, winner of the 2011 Polish Eagles award for the Best Actor for his work in Little Rose. Monica Bellucci will play Oriana Fallaci, an Italian journalist that was covering the events of the political turmoil in Poland of the 70's and 80's. The director had also considered Meryl Streep to play Margaret Thatcher but the actress had turned down the role due to previous engagements. Further details of production have been kept secret, although the producer told FNE that an application for a PISF (www.pisf.pl) grant had already been issued and postponed to the upcoming financing session.

The script was written by Janusz Głowacki, a Polish writer and publicist, whose work inspired one of Wajda's film Hunting Flies.

"Wałęsa is a character full of this fantastic optimism and faith that we were born to break out of servitude. And it really worked. I think that Janusz Głowacki had captured this very moment. I am very happy about that and we will try to continue on this path," Wajda said.

The Polish premiere of the picture is planned for fall of 2012.



Production contact:

Akson Studio
ul. Stępińska 22/30, 00-739 Warsaw
tel.: 22 840 68 30-34
fax: 22 841 77 82
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.akson-studio.pl