
| Gdynia Polish Film Festival Competition Spotlight : The Dark House |
| 21 September 2009 | By Katarzyna Grynienko |
Wojciech Smarzowski directs The Dark House, a tragicomedy about the dark side of human nature.
The Dark House takes place against a background of raw mountain scenery on a dark day during the period of martial law in Poland. A military investigation crew visits the scene of a crime on the farm owned by the Dziubas family. The suspect Środoń tells them a story which took place in the fall of 1978, during a stormy and drunken night. The dark but at first comical story, involving Środoń and Bożena and Zdzisław Dziubas, grows gradually more frightening. The tale interweaves with the swindles and frauds of the militia officers engaged in the investigation. Smarzowski directed The Wedding, winner of five awards during the PFF in Gdynia 2004, including the Jury's Special Prize. The Dark House was shot in two sessions, first in the fall of 2008 and second in January 2009 on location near Warsaw and Gorlice. Smarzowski again cast Marian Dziędziel, the lead of The Wedding, along with Arkadiusz Jakubik and Kinga Preis. The Dark House is produced by a Polish company Film It (www.filmit.com.pl ) in co-production with SPI International Polska (www.spi.pl) with a budget of 3.8 million PLN ( €920,000). The movie received 1.9 million PLN in financing from the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl). After the screening in Gdynia, The Dark House will be presented in the main competition of the Tokyo International Film Festival. The Polish premiere of the picture is planned for fall 2009, distributed by SPI International Polska. Credits: Director - Wojciech Smarzowski Screenwriter - Wojciech Smarzowski, Łukasz Kośmicki Cinematpgrapher - Krzysztof Ptak Set designer - Marek Zawierucha Costumes - Katarzyna Lewiska Music - Mikołaj Trzaska Producers - Dariusz Pietrykowski, Andrzej Połeć, Anna Iwaszkiewicz Co-producer - Piotr Reisch Production - Film It Co-production - SPI International Polska Co-financing - Polish Film Institute Distributor - SPI International Polska Cast: Arkadiusz Jakubik Marian Dziędziel Bartłomiej Topa Kinga Preis and others Production contact: Film It ul. Wołodyjowskiego 42 lok.1, 02-724 Warszawa tel.: 22 852 23 24, 22 853 86 68 fax: 22 852 15 16 email: info@filmit.com.pl www: http://www.filmit.com.pl |
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The Dark House takes place against a background of raw mountain scenery on a dark day during the period of martial law in Poland. A military investigation crew visits the scene of a crime on the farm owned by the Dziubas family. The suspect Środoń tells them a story which took place in the fall of 1978, during a stormy and drunken night. The dark but at first comical story, involving Środoń and Bożena and Zdzisław Dziubas, grows gradually more frightening. The tale interweaves with the swindles and frauds of the militia officers engaged in the investigation.



