The film tells the story of Irena Gut Opdyke, a Pole who in 1982 was awarded the Righteous among the Nations medal for showing remarkable courage in her heroic attempt to save Polish Jews during WWII. In 2009, Irena's story hit Broadway, where it became very successful. The author of the play Irena's Vow, Dan Gordon, is also the author of the script for the film.
“About 25 years ago, I was driving to my home in Los Angeles and listening to the radio. I heard a woman, Irena Gut Opdyke, telling her story. When I got home, I sat in the car in the driveway for another 1.5 hours, because I couldn't stop listening to the story she was telling”, Dan Gordon told FNE.
The cast includes stars of Polish and international cinema: Sophie Nelisse, Dougray Scott, Maciej Nawrocki, Andrzej Seweryn, Eliza Rycembel and Tomasz Tyndyk, as well as Aleksander Milicevic, Agata Turkot, Filip Kosior, Irena Melcer, Krzysztof Szczepaniak, Mateusz Mosiewicz, Rafał Mohr, Rafał Maćkowiak and Zuza Pulaska.
The film is produced by Entract Studios Inc. (Canada), Darius Films Inc. (Canada), Telefilm Canada and K&K Selekt (Poland), with a planned budget of 4.1 m EUR / 19.3 m PLN, with 212,220 EUR / 1 m PLN of production financing from the Polish Film Institute. The local government of Lublin added 26,500 EUR / 123,000 PLN.
The shoot, which is now taking place in Lublin, will last till the end of May 2022.
Production Information:
Producer:
Entract Studios Inc. (Canada)
Coproducers:
Darius Films Inc. (Canada)
Telefilm Canada
K&K Selekt (Poland)
Credits:
Director: Louise Archambault
Scriptwriter: Dan Gordon
DoP: Paul Sarossy
Cast: Sophie Nelisse, Dougray Scott, Maciej Nawrocki, Andrzej Seweryn, Eliza Rycembel, Tomasz Tyndyk, Aleksander Milicevic, Agata Turkot, Filip Kosior, Irena Melcer, Krzysztof Szczepaniak, Mateusz Mosiewicz, Rafał Mohr, Rafał Maćkowiak, Zuza Pulaska