Filming wraps on “Zdrada”, a Polish spy thriller with an all-star cast

“Zdrada”, directed by Maciej Dutkiewicz, was shot in Poland and in Greece, on the island of Rhodes. The cast includes Dawid Ogrodnik, Mirosław Baka, Alan Andersz, Mateusz Damięcki, Dmytro Malkov, May Kurtz and Marcin Czarnik. The film’s premiere is planned for autumn 2027.

“Zdrada” is a story about the work of Polish counter-intelligence — a world where key decisions are made away from the public eye, and where loyalty and responsibility come at a very concrete price. The film unfolds along two timelines, in 1991 and 2001, in Warsaw and in Israel. In the background of the story is Operation Most (1990–1992), a secret operation by the Polish special services and the Mossad in which nearly 40,000 Jews from the former USSR were transferred through Poland to Israel.

The screenplay was written by Maciej Dutkiewicz and Wojciech Raduchowski-Brochwicz — a colonel and former intelligence officer whose experience became one of the foundations of the work on the film. His involvement helped the filmmakers render the realities of counter-intelligence work credibly.

— “It is a spy thriller about people of honour — those who serve their country in the shadows, often paying a very high personal price for it. Today, when so much is said about security, responsibility and loyalty to one’s country, this story resonates particularly strongly. We wanted to portray the world of the secret services in a way that is both credible and gripping,” says Robert Kijak, the film’s producer.

Synopsis:

“Zdrada” is a spy thriller inspired by true events and by the realities of the Polish special services in the early 1990s. At the centre of the story is Krzysztof Radecki — a counter-intelligence officer who, after one failed operation, loses his good name and the life he knew. Demoted, he feels he has become the scapegoat for someone else’s betrayal, and the affair leaves a lasting wound in him.

Ten years later, Radecki returns to the events that broke his career and robbed him of his peace of mind. What was meant to stay hidden for years begins to surface: things left unsaid, false leads, loyalties put to the test and questions no one wants to answer. The closer he gets to the truth, the more clearly he sees that in the world of covert operations there are no simple answers — only decisions someone has to pay for.

A realistic portrayal of the services’ operations is combined here with the personal story of a man who is not seeking revenge, but trying to reclaim his good name. The road to the truth, however, leads him through a trial no one can prepare for — and to a decision after which nothing will ever be the same.

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ZDRADA

Premiere: autumn 2027
Directed by: Maciej Dutkiewicz
Screenplay: Maciej Dutkiewicz, Wojciech Raduchowski-Brochwicz
Producer: Robert Kijak
Cast: Dawid Ogrodnik, Mirosław Baka, Alan Andersz, Mateusz Damięcki, Dmytro Malkov, May Kurtz, Marcin Czarnik
Cinematography: Bartosz Bieniek PSC
Line producer: Anna Orska
Production design: Anna Pabisiak
Costumes: Sandra Kowalska
Make-up: Anna Gorońska
Sound: Sebastian Brański
Production manager: Marcin Kupiecki
Production and distribution: NEXT FILM
Co-production: TVN Warner Bros. Discovery
Co-financed by: Polish Film Institute

THE FILM WAS MADE IN POLAND WITH FINANCIAL SUPPORT GRANTED UNDER THE ACT ON FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTION BY THE POLISH FILM INSTITUTE FROM THE FUNDS OF THE MINISTER OF CULTURE AND NATIONAL HERITAGE