“Doppelgänger. The Double” (produced by TVN Warner Bros. Discovery) and “The Peasants” (produced by BreakThru Films) — two films distributed by NEXT FILM have been selected for the Main Competition of the 48th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia. Both titles will screen at the festival as premieres.
AN INTELLIGENCE AGENT AND A STOLEN IDENTITY
“Doppelgänger. The Double” is the new film directed by Jan Holoubek, who — following his superbly received feature debut “25 lat niewinności. Sprawa Tomka Komendy” and the worldwide success of the series “Wielka woda” — once again reaches for a screenplay (written by Andrzej Gołda) inspired by real events.
The director entrusted the lead roles to Jakub Gierszał and Tomasz Schuchardt. The film takes viewers back to the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, and its action unfolds on both sides of the Iron Curtain simultaneously. Hans (Gierszał) lives in vibrant Strasbourg and, making the most of the opportunities offered by the West, blends into the local community while carrying out espionage activities, whereas Bitner (Schuchardt) lives in Sopot, is involved in the Solidarity movement and leads a quiet family life. On the surface their lives are completely different, yet they are bound by the past and by the need to confront their own weaknesses and passions.
“Doppelgänger. The Double” is an international production mounted on a grand scale. Alongside Jakub Gierszał and Tomasz Schuchardt, the cast includes Wiktoria Gorodeckaja, Katarzyna Herman and Andrzej Seweryn. They are joined by international stars — Emily Kusche, Joachim Raaf, Nathalie Richard and Jessica McIntyre.
AN EXTRAORDINARY ANIMATION
“The Peasants” directed by DK Welchman (previously known as Dorota Kobiela) and Hugh Welchman is one of the most anticipated premieres of the year. The adaptation of Władysław Reymont’s famous novel of the same title was produced by the BreakThru Films studio. The team rose to fame with “Loving Vincent”, the world’s first feature-length painted animation, which was seen by 6 million viewers in cinemas and brought its creators the European Film Award as well as Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.
Initially, the BreakThru Films studio shot the film with actors. “The Peasants” features a host of Polish stars, including Mirosław Baka, Ewa Kasprzyk, Andrzej Konopka, Sonia Bohosiewicz, Małgorzata Kożuchowska, Robert Gulaczyk, Maciej Musiał, Dorota Stalińska and Julia Wieniawa. The lead role of Jagna is played by Kamila Urzędowska. More than 100 painters in four studios in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Serbia then painted oil paintings on canvas, which became the film’s key frames. So far the artists have devoted more than 200,000 hours of work to the project.
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The Microbudget Film Competition will feature “The Ikea Generation” (dir. Dawid Gral, prod. Film PI). The film had its cinema premiere in March this year.
The Gdynia festival will take place from 18 to 23 September.
