Jan Holoubek has wrapped shooting on his new film, a TVN Grupa Discovery production. This time the director turns to identity theft; the story concerns a secret service agent, yet his life story is merely a pretext for a tale of human weaknesses and passions. “Doppelgänger. The Double” will arrive in cinemas early next year – in the meantime, we present the first stills from the film.
Filming ran from April this year. The film is produced by TVN Grupa Discovery, and the filmmakers spared no effort in terms of scale – both when it comes to the filming locations and the historical realities of the story.
– The film is staged on a remarkable scale. We shot it in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdynia, Gdańsk, Sopot, Bydgoszcz, Toruń, on the Hel Peninsula, as well as in smaller towns in Lower Silesia, seeking out the most interesting locations these cities have to offer. The superb work of the production design, costume, make-up and camera departments means the film already looks stunning at this stage. I have the impression that we have managed to recreate very convincingly both the scenery of the Polish People’s Republic and that of the affluent West at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s. It has also been a fantastic experience for me because, for the first time, I worked with such a large foreign-language cast. Many wonderful actresses and actors from Germany and France appear in our film – says the film’s director Jan Holoubek.
Producer Anna Waśniewska says of the project: – Cooperation between East and West, the forbidden passion of a German woman (Emily Kusche) for a Pole (Jakub Gierszał), risky investigative operations – we will see the results of these performances, set in the realities of the 1970s and 1980s, as early as next year. Nathalie Richard, Joachim Raaf and Jessica McIntyre are the actors who appeared alongside the Polish cast we know and admire. More than 40 shooting days, nearly 70 locations, around two thousand extras – all to create the right setting for an extraordinary story directed by Jan Holoubek, who has proven more than once that he knows how to stir deep emotions in audiences.
The film’s plot centres on the lives of two protagonists living in parallel. Hans (Jakub Gierszał) and Jan Bitner (Tomasz Schuchardt) live separated from each other by the Iron Curtain. Hans works at an office in Strasbourg and leads a quiet, even monotonous life. Bitner is a Polish patriot, involved in the affairs of Solidarity and the fight for a free Poland. He lives in Sopot with his family. On the surface their lives are completely different, yet there is a certain detail that has bound their life stories together forever. Both will have to answer some very important questions about their identity.
Jan Holoubek is one of the most acclaimed directors of the young generation; his feature debut “25 lat niewinności. Sprawa Tomka Komendy” won numerous awards and critical acclaim. Once again, the director draws inspiration from true stories. The film is produced by TVN Grupa Discovery, marking another collaboration with the director.
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DOPPELGÄNGER. THE DOUBLE
Genre: drama / psychological thriller
Production: Poland 2022
Producer: TVN Grupa Discovery, co-financed by: the POLISH FILM INSTITUTE
Cinematography: Bartłomiej Kaczmarek (“25 lat niewinności. Sprawa Tomka Komendy”, “Rojst”, “Rojst ’97”)
Directed by: Jan Holoubek (“25 lat niewinności. Sprawa Tomka Komendy”, “Rojst”, “Rojst ’97”)
Cast:
Jakub Gierszał, Tomasz Schuchardt, Andrzej Seweryn, Wiktoria Gorodeckaja, Katarzyna Herman, Sławomira Łozińska, Krzysztof Dracz, Adam Ferency, Zofia Stafiej, Emily Kusche, Nathalie Richard, Joachim Raaf, Jessica McIntyre
Screenplay: Andrzej Gołda, in collaboration with: Jan Holoubek
Production design: Marek Warszewski
Costumes: Weronika Orlińska
Make-up: Mirela Zawiszewska
Editing: Rafał Listopad
Production manager: Tomasz Parnowski
Producer: Anna Waśniewska
Distribution: NEXT FILM
