“The Peasants” – the painted adaptation of Reymont’s novel received the title of Empik Bestseller 2023 at last night’s gala, joining the ranks of Poles’ favourite films. For 25 years, the Empik Bestsellers have charted the cultural and entertainment tastes of the Polish public and honoured its favourite artists.

“The Peasants” is the second film from the directing duo of DK and Hugh Welchman. Like “Loving Vincent”, it was made using painted animation. The technique stretched the film’s production from around two years to more than five, but it allowed a Polish literary classic to be shown in an entirely new light, highlighting its timelessness, its painterly beauty and its subtle human emotions. The film was brought to life by more than 200 oil and digital painters.

We thank our amazing crew, and especially our nearly two hundred oil and digital painters, thanks to whom “The Peasants” has enchanted audiences. Without their talent, passion and commitment, this film would never have stood a chance of being made – says Hugh Welchman, the film’s director.

 

We thank the audiences who went to the cinemas and fell in love with our painted adaptation of Reymont’s novel. What viewers think and how they feel about the film matters most to us
– more important even than the nomination and the Oscar we won in the past – adds DK Welchman.

The film’s success also rests on its phenomenal soundtrack, whose popularity has reached far beyond cinema auditoriums, racking up over 50 million streams, earning a Gold Record and becoming the most popular soundtrack in the history of Polish cinema. Together with L.U.C. and the Rebel Babel Film Orchestra, the filmmakers have created an 80-minute spectacle – “Chłopi – Tańcuj” – that will immerse audiences in a world of thrilling film and folk music combined with animated painting and hypnotic dance performances. The world premiere will take place on 26 April at the COS Torwar arena in Warsaw. The soloists will include Kayah, Kwiat Jabłoni and Bela Komoszyńska.

Tickets for the event: eventim.pl

“The Peasants” also stands a chance of representing Poland at Eurovision. Łukasz L.U.C. Rostkowski has submitted the song “Jesień – Tańcuj” to the European song contest. A Telewizja Polska committee will soon decide on the hit’s participation.

Watch the “Jesień – Tańcuj” video by L.U.C. & RB Film Orchestra ft. Kayah, Dagadana, Laboratorium Pieśni and Tęgie Chłopy, which has already been viewed by 7 million people:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amHCTTvWP4o

“The Peasants” has also received 8 nominations for the Orły – the Polish Film Awards – in 7 categories: Best Film, Best Leading Actress (Kamila Urzędowska), Discovery of the Year (Kamila Urzędowska and Łukasz L.U.C. Rostkowski), Best Costume Design (Katarzyna Lewińska), Best Supporting Actress (Ewa Kasprzyk) and Best Sound (Michał Jankowski).

L.U.C. has also been nominated in the classical music, opera and jazz category for his score for “The Peasants” in the O!LŚNIENIA awards run by Onet and the City of Kraków, as well as for the international IMFSC Awards in the categories “Breakthrough Composer of The Year” and “Best Original Score for an Animated Film”.

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THE PEASANTS

Polish premiere: 13 October

Synopsis: Against the backdrop of the changing seasons and seasonal field work unfold the fortunes of the Boryna family and the beautiful, mysterious Jagna. It is the women, and above all 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 timely 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 those narrow confines carries the threat of humiliation and rejection.

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: 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-financed by: 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