With his Gdynia main competition film Million Dollar, Polish director Janusz Kondratiuk crafts a fast-paced comedy about contemporary Poland with people adrift following the transformation of the country.

The story follows Bożena, a pregnant official in a big bank, who is convinced that there is no real life without shopping. Surrounded by the glamorous and fake reality of her work place, she is disappointed with living in an old apartment house in Gdańsk. Her husband, an unsuccessful klezmer saxophonist, also doesn't match the lifestyle that she dreams of for herself while watching commercials. When she discovers that her neighbor, an old and recently widowed lady, has inherited one million dollars, Bożena and some neighbors set out to intercept the small fortune and make their dreams come true.

Bożena is played by Kinga Preis, one of the most critically acclaimed Polish actress of the last decade, awarded the Best Female Performance at both Gdynia IFF and the Polish Academy Eagles gala for Silence by Michał Rosa (2001) and The Collector by Feliks Falk (2005). More recently, she was awarded the Best Female Performance Eagle for Four Nights With Anna by Jerzy Skolimowski (2009) and Dark House by Wojciech Smarzowski (2010). The cast includes popular film and television actor Tomasz Karolak, Jakub Gierszał, Joanna Kulig, Jiri Pomeje and Barbara Kraftówna.

Million Dollars was shot in August and September 2009 on location in Gdańsk. The film is produced by Agencja Filmowa Profilm (www.profilm.com.pl) with a budget of 5 million PLN (EUR 1.2 million) with 2 million PLN financing input from the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl). The movie will open in Polish cinemas in October 2010 and is nationally distributed by Syrena Films (www.syrenafilms.com).


Crew:

Director - Janusz Kondratiuk
Screenwriter- Dominik Rettinger-Wieczorkowski, Janusz Kondratiuk
Cinematographer - Piotr Lenar
Set design - Marek Zawierucha
Music - Leszek Możdżer

Cast:

Kinga Preis
Tomasz Karolak
Jakub Gierszał
Joanna Kulig
Hanna Konarowska
Andrzej  Grabowski
Rafał Mohr
Jiri  Pomeje 
Barbara Krafftówna

Production contact:

PROFILM Agencja Filmowa Sp. z o.o.
Al. Niepodległości 809A
81-810 Sopot
tel: /058/ 524 73 72
fax: /058/ 524 73 70
www.profilm.com.pl