The Will to Live, written by Pieprzyca, is based on a true story about a man suffering with cerebral palsy, who in his early childhood had been diagnosed as retarded and had no contact with the outside world. It took 25 years for authorities to discover that he was a perfectly normal and intelligent person. His will to live and good spirit helped him overcome his limitations.

Speaking of the film, Pieprzyca said, "The story of Mateusz is above all a pretext to ask existential questions about life, death, faith, love, normality and understanding. Life does not bring unambiguous moments of sadness or joy, it is more a state in-between these feelings, between a funeral and a wedding. Life is both tragic and comical, thus the film's convention is tragicomical."

The cast includes Polish film stars as well as rising young actor Dawid Ogrodnik (playing the lead role ofMateusz) who recently received the Best Supporting Role Award for You Are God by Leszek Dawid at 37th Gdynia Film Festival (www.fpff.pl). The film also stars Kamil Tkacz (baby Mateusz), Dorota Kolak (Mateusz's mother), Arkadiusz Jakubik (Mateusz's father), Katarzyna Zawadzka (Ewa) and Anna Nehrebecka (Jola). The DoP is Paweł Dyllus, and the music will be composed by Leszek Możdżer.

Born in 1964. Pieprzyca graduated in Journalism and in Film Directing from the Radio and Television Department of the University of Silesia and studied Screenwriting at the National Film School in Łódź. He won the Polish edition of the Hartley-Merill screenwriting competition.