"I make a plan to visit Polish Days annually because it is a great overview of what is currently going on in the Polish cinema. It is often that in Wrocław I first see the films that get selected for Berlinale later on. The works in progress are especially interesting," Nikolai Nikitin, Berlinale film programmer, told FNE.
The projects presented cover a wide range from drama and psychological thriller to animation/documentary hybrid and dark comedy.
FULL LIST OF WORKS IN PROGRESS:
Amok (Poland)
This psychological thriller is based on a novel by Krystian Bala, who was convicted for killing his wife's lover. Bala described a similar crime in his novel and this ultimately drew the police on his trace. The case was broadly covered by the Polish media, but Kasia Adamik stated that her film "will not be a Bala biography".
K&K Selekt Film is producing with a planned budget of 1.5 m EUR. Shooting launched in June 2016 in Wrocław and is continuing in Warsaw and Toruń. The premiere is set for 2017.
Directed by Katarzyna Adamik
Produced by K&K Selekt Film
Production contact: Beata Pisula, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Another Day in Life (Poland, Spain, Germany, Belgium)
This animation/documentary hybrid is an adaptation of a book written by the acclaimed journalist and writer Ryszard Kapuściński. Another Day in Life focuses on an episode from Kapuściński’s life, as he traveled to Angola to report on the civil war in 1975.
Representatives of Platige Image told FNE that the film will be a fusion between computer animation and documentary. The film’s producers are Jarek Sawko, Ole Wendorff-Ostergaard, Amaia Remírez and Raúl de la Fuente. Platige Image is producing in coproduction with Kanaki Films, Wueste Film and Walking the Dog. The planned budget is 6.1 m EUR. Polish Film Institute and the Spanish Film Institute are supporting. The premiere is planned for 2017 and the Polish distributor is Next Film.
Directed by Raúl de la Fuente, Damian Nenow
Produced by Platige Films
Coproduced by Kanaki Films, Wueste Film, Walking The Dog
Supported by the Polish Film Institute , the Spanish Film Institute
Production contact: Magdalena Bargieł, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +48 698 604 180
I Am a Killer (Poland)
The new psychological thriller by Maciej Pieprzyca follows a young officer of militia, who is chosen to head a special task force created to catch a serial killer. The script is inspired by true events that took place in Poland in the 1970's.
The film is produced by Renata Czarnkowska-Listoś and Maria Gołoś through RE Studio in coproduction with the National Audiovisual Institute, Telewizja Polska, Agora S.A.and Monternia.pl. The planned budget is 1.3 m EUR with 88,560 EUR / 3 m PLN already covered by a production grant from the Polish Film Institute. The film will be released domestically by Next Film on 4 November 2016.
Directed by Maciej Pieprzyca
Produced by RE Studio
Coproduced by National Audiovisual Institute, TVP, Agora S.A., Monternia.pl
Supported by the Polish Film Institute
Production contact: Maria Gołoś, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Forest (Poland)
Joanna Zastróżna’s debut feature is an artistic experimental drama inspired by Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Snail on the Slope by the Strugatsky Brothers and The Engraving by Jacek Szymkiewicz. The story follows The Gruff on his journey to find answers about his past and future.
Patrycja Ryłko is producing through Pink Galapagos with a planned budget of 0.5 m EUR. The New Horizons Association will release the film domestically in 2017.
Directed by Joanna Zastróżna
Produced by Pink Galapagos
Production contact: Joanna Zastróżna, +48 501 951 604
Loving Vincent (Poland, UK)
The world's first long painted animated film, directed by the Polish filmmaker Dorota Kobiela, is an investigation delving into the life and controversial death of Vincent Van Gogh, told by his paintings. The story unfolds through interviews with the characters inhabiting the paintings and dramatic reconstructions of the events leading up to his death.
Hugh Welchman, Ivan Mactaggart and Sean Bobbitt are producing. The film is produced by Gdańsk-based company Breakthru Films in coproduction with Trademark Films. The budget is 5.1 m EUR. MEDIA Programme, the Polish Film Institute and Odra Film are supporting. The budget was also partly covered by a Kickstarter campaign. Loving Vincent is already presented at international film festivals with regular distribution planned for the end of 2016.
Directed by Dorota Kobiela
Produced by Breakthru Films
Coproduced by Trademark Films
Supported by the MEDIA Programme, the Polish Film Institute, Odra Film
Production contact: Sean Bobbitt, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Office for Monument Construction (Poland)
Karolina Breguła’s debut feature is focusing on people who come from a town that no longer exists. Having no better place to stay they inhabit a deserted concrete complex situated in the middle of a vibrant city. This surrogate home is however bound for demolition so the characters will soon have to move again.
The film is produced by Aleksandra Wojtaszek through touchFILMS with a budget of 56,000 EUR and with the support of the Polish Film Institute. The film will premiere in the Visions Apart Competition at the 41st Gdynia Film Festival.
Directed by Karolina Breguła
Produced by touchFILMS
Supported by the Polish Film Institute
Animals (Poland, Switzerland, Austria)
Greg Zgliński explores in his new drama the story of Anna, a woman who suspects her husband of an affair, then falls into a psychological breakdown after witnessing the death of a young woman.
The film is an international coproduction from Katrin Renz, Stefan Jaeger, Bruno Wagner, Antonin Svoboda and Łukasz Dzięcioł. The film is produced by Opus Film in coproduction with tellfilm GmbH and Coop 99 Filmproduktion. The budget of 3 m EUR is partly covered by a grant from the Polish Film Institute. The premiere is planned for 2017.
Directed by Greg Zglinski
Produced by Opus Film
Coproduced by tellfilm GmbH, Coop 99 Filmproduktion
Supported by the Polish Film Institute
Production contact: Stefan Jaeger, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Birds Are Singing in Kigali (Poland)
The new drama by Joanna Kos-Krauze and late Krzysztof Krauze is the story of a young girl Tutsi and Polish ornithologist, who saves her life during the slaughter in Rwanda in 1994. The production is based on the novel Which of You Committed Genocide? by Wojciech Albiński.
The film is produced by KOSFilm with a budget of 1.2 m EUR. The Polish Film Institute is supporting. The premiere is set for 2017.
Directed by Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze
Produced by KOSFILM
Supported by the Polish Film Institute
Production contact: Aleksandra Bielska, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Game Count (Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden)
Agnieszka Holland’s new drama is an adaptation of Olga Tokarczuk’s bestselling novel Drive Your Plough over the Bones of the Dead. The script of Game Count/Pokot was co-written by Holland and Tokarczuk and follows a series of murders of hunters in a small community. An elderly villager finds herself a prime suspect in the police investigation.
The film is a Polish/Czech/German/Swedish coproduction and is produced by TOR Film Production in coproduction with Nutprodukce, Heimatfilm GmbH and Chimney Group. The budget is 3.5 m EUR, of which 803,321 EUR /3.5 m PLN is covered by a production grant from the Polish Film Institute. The film had also received support from the MEDIA Programme and the Polish-German Co-Development Fund. The premiere is set for 2017. The distributor is Next Film.
Directed by Agnieszka Holland
Produced by TOR Film Production
Coproduced by Nutprodukce, Heimatfilm GmbH, Chimney Group Supported by Polish Film Institute, MEDIA Programme, Polish-German Co-Development Fund
