16-09-2009

Gdynia Polish Film Festival Competition Spotlight: Hel

    Director/writer Kinga Dębska's Polish/Czech co-production Hel premieres in the Gdynia festival competition in advance of its December 31 theatrical release.

    {mosimage}Hel is a story of a psychiatrist whose life is disrupted when his grown up son is administered to the psychiatric ward where he works. The title refers to the location where part of the movie was filmed.

    A psychological drama Hel was initially a Zebra Film Studio production, with plans to start shooting two years ago. In the course of pre-production, the film was taken over by Polish Studio Filmowe KALEJDOSKOP (www.kalejdoskop.art.pl) represented by Zbigniew Domagalski as the producer. The studio brought Czech production company In Film Praha to the project, and filming took place in February and March, 2009.

    "The budget of the movie is 2 million PLN (€440,000) , with 1.35 million PLN ( €300,000) in financing from the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl)," Zbigniew Domagalski from KALEJDOSKOP told FNE. "About 20% of the budget is provided by the Czech producer In Film Praha," he added.


    The movie is a cinema feature debut for Kinga Dębska, who started her career as journalist and documentary filmmaker. The cast of Hel changed in the course of the last two years. The final list includes a new lead actor Paweł Królikowski, Lesław Żurek, star Czech actress Anna Geislerova (winner of the last four Czech Lions for the Best Actress), and Magda Biegańska.


    Credits:

    Director: Kinga Dębska
    Scriptwriter: Kinga Dębska
    Director of Photography: Wojciech Staroń
    Production Designer: Marek Zawierucha
    Producer: Zbigniew Domagalski
    Production Company: Studio Filmowe KALEJDOSKOP
    Co-producer: Rudolf Biermann, In Film Praha
    Supported by Polish Film Institute

    Cast:

    Paweł Królikowski
    Anna Geislerova
    Lesław Żurek
    Magda Biegańska
    Bartosz Żukowski
    Monika Kwiatkowska-Dejczer
    Katarzyna Cynke
    Janusz Chabior
    Bartłomiej Topa
    Anna Gornostaj
    Przemysław Bluszcz
    Henryk Talar

    Last modified on 21-07-2012