Kolski sets Venice in Polish cellar
Shooting has started on Venice, the new feature by Jan Jakub Kolski (Jasminum, Happy Aphonya), who wrote the screenplay based on Wlodzimierz Odojewski’s short stories.
This new work by a director known for his poetic approach to film is heralded as marking a change in direction towards a historical focus. It will include dramatic war scenes but won’t be lacking in magic and intimacy.
The title is just an oblique reference to the Italian city of Venice. Kolski has set the film’s action in the Eastern Polish region where he spent his childhood.
According to the director, Venice will blend Poland’s epic image during the Second World War and the microcosm of a "water city" created by a young boy in the cellar of his home. The protagonist, 11-year-old Marek, lives and grows up surrounded by women (his mother, grandmother and aunts), and dreams of visiting Venice.
Kolski commented: ”Through his eyes, we watch six years of war. His experiences offer a unique perspective, for the war is merely a backdrop to the personal events which shape the boy’s imagination and character. We will witness his first love, his first erotic fascinations, his first achievements and disappointments. This approach will have an impact on the images.”
The cast includes Marcin Walewski, Magdalena Cielecka, Teresa Budzisz Krzyzanowska, Grazyna Blecka-Kolska and Mariusz Bonaszewski.
Venice is lensed by DoP Artur Reinhart (Dorota Kędzierzawska’s I Am) and produced by Michał Kwieciński (Andrzej Wajda’s Sweet Rush [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) for Axon Studio. Its €1.8m budget includes €720,000 in backing from the Polish Film Institute (PISF).
(Translated from French)
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