The film “The Peasants” directed by DK and Hugh Welchman has been selected by the Oscar committee formed at the Polish Film Institute as Poland’s candidate for the Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. The extraordinary painted animation delighted audiences and critics at the festivals in Toronto and Gdynia. It is also listed by international media among the best films of the world’s most important film festivals. “The Peasants” opens in Polish cinemas on 13 October.

This is not the filmmakers’ first encounter with the most famous awards in the world of cinema. Hugh Welchman has already won an Oscar for the short film “Piotruś i Wilk”, which he produced at the BreakThru Films studio. The duo’s previous film – “Loving Vincent” – also brought DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman an Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Feature category.

“The Peasants” is mentioned by the most important international outlets among the titles with the greatest chance of a nomination in the feature animation category. Variety put the Polish film on its list of 25 such productions. Indiewire writes about it as one of the 16 most important titles that premiered at the world’s biggest festivals in Toronto, Venice and Telluride. “The Hollywood Reporter” stresses that “The Peasants” is “a ravishingly beautiful visual triumph”.

Polish media have also embraced this remarkable adaptation of Władysław Reymont’s book. “First the Nobel, now an Oscar?” reads a review on the Onet portal. Similar questions could be found in Interia and Wirtualna Polska.

– The makers of “The Peasants” have delivered another impressive animated film, not only repeating the triumph of “Vincent” but going much further, reaching a new level of dynamism in animation, in which the camera is not merely an observer but a participant. The film touches on important and still topical social issues: the oppression of women, their dependence on – and even their being treated as the property of – men, sexual violence, harassment. It is a story that will be understood all over the world, across borders and political divides – said Ewa Puszczyńska, chair of the committee.

– A woman in a patriarchal world collides with violence and incomprehension and, against the law of the majority, wants to live on her own terms. With this film I wanted to give a voice to the other and the excluded, and to tell a story about the strength of women – says DK Welchman. – On this occasion I would like to thank once again all the artists involved in the film, and to thank the audience of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia for choosing us as the best film.

Visually, “The Peasants” is unprecedented, improbable and dazzling. In places it looks strikingly photorealistic. Many frames are ready-made masterpieces we would love to hang on the wall. A visual feast! – Adam Siennica, naEKRANIE.pl

It has been a long time since I left a cinema in such euphoria, with such a sense of catharsis. – Joanna Stachnik, filmawka.pl

Visually thrilling, narratively well thought out. The filmmakers have drawn out of the book everything that is contemporary, bringing to life the social mechanisms of a small community. The men here live in their emotions, the women in the awareness of what everyday life costs. In the end we get a gripping film that leaves you with the feeling that there are certain things that never change. – Katarzyna Czajka-Kominiarczuk

 

At the just-concluded festival in Gdynia, “The Peasants” received, among others, the Audience Award and the Special Award for its unique visual form. Kamila Urzędowska, who plays Jagna, received 2 awards – the Elle Crystal Star and the Chopard & W. Kruk: Chopard Loves Cinema award.

International sales agent New Europe Film Sales has sold the film to more than 50 territories, including France, Benelux, Germany, South Korea, Scandinavia and Spain. The film will also have a theatrical release in China, a rarity for films produced outside that country. Negotiations with distributors from the United Kingdom, North America, Australia, Italy and Japan are being finalised.

“Loving Vincent” was seen by 6 million viewers worldwide, and the film grossed more than 42 million dollars at the global box office. It is the best result in history for a Polish film.

ADVANCE SALES

“The Peasants” opens in cinemas on 13 October. Nationwide ticket sales start as early as 29 September.

Shortly before the film’s release, Wydawnictwo Agora will publish an exclusive, illustrated edition of Władysław Stanisław Reymont’s Nobel Prize-winning work. In bookshops from 11 October.

The producer has started selling paintings from the film. The first hand-painted frames can be purchased in the online shop: https://shop.thepeasantsmovie.com.

 

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THE PEASANTS

Release date: 13 October

Synopsis: Against the backdrop of the changing seasons and seasonal field work unfold the fates of the Boryna family and the beautiful, mysterious Jagna. It is the women, especially the tragic figure of Jagna, who stand at the heart of the story. The unique microcosm of a village community becomes the pretext for telling a universal and remarkably topical story. A story of tragic love and life in a small community, where rules and the brutal laws of the game assign everyone a fixed place in the group, and stepping outside the narrow framework risks humiliation and rejection.

The film draws on the painting of the Young Poland period, which perfectly captures the mood of the novel. The big screen features interpretations of works by artists such as Józef Chełmoński, Ferdynand Ruszczyc and Leon Wyczółkowski.

Financed from the funds of the Minister of Culture, National Heritage and Sport. Co-financed by the Polish National Foundation.

Directed by: DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman
Screenplay: DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman
Cinematography: Radosław Ładczuk, Kamil Polak, Szymon Kuriata
Editing: DK Welchman, Patrycja Piróg, Miki Węcel
Production design: Elwira Pluta
Costumes: Katarzyna Lewińska
Make-up: Waldemar Pokromski
Music: Łukasz L.U.C. Rostkowski & Rebel Babel Orchestras (Laboratorium Pieśni, Julia Wieniawa, Tęgie Chłopy, Sutari, Szymon Lipiński)
Sound: Michał Jankowski
Casting director: Ewa Brodzka
Animation director: Piotr Dominiak
Special effects: Kamil Polak
VFX supervisor: Łukasz Mackiewicz
Line producer: Tomasz Wochniak
Producers: Sean Bobbitt, Hugh Welchman
Production: BreakThru Films
Executive producers: Laurie Ubben, Steve Muench, Sita Saviolo, DK Welchman
Co-producers: Ivan Pribićević, Jelena Angelovski, Agnė Adomėnė
Co-production: CANAL+, DIGITAL KRAFT, Art Shot, Narodowe Centrum Kultury
Co-financing: Polish Film Institute, Polish National Foundation, Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission
Distribution: Next Film
International sales agent: New Europe Film Sales
Partners: Juice, TELEVISOR Studio, Centrum Technologii Audiowizualnych, GS Animation

Cast (roles used in the animation): Kamila Urzędowska, Robert Gulaczyk, Mirosław Baka, Sonia Mietielica, Ewa Kasprzyk, Cezary Łukaszewicz, Małgorzata Kożuchowska, Sonia Bohosiewicz, Dorota Stalińska, Andrzej Konopka, Mateusz Rusin, Maciej Musiał, Julia Wieniawa