Interview with Ari Folman in Cannes [video]

The Congress, directed by Ari Folman and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, was the opening film of this year’s Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs). The film’s world premiere took place place on May 16.

The screenplay was based on Stanisław Lem’s novel “Kongres futurologiczny” (“The Futurological Congress”), first published in 1971. Folman’s latest film, lensed by Polish cinematographer Michał Englert, is a feature film combining live-action with animation techniques. Leading roles were played by internationally-acclaimed actors: Robin Wright, Harvey Keitel, Paul Giamatti, Danny Huston, Jon Hamm, Francis Fisher, Sami Gayle, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. David Polonsky, who previously collaborated with Ari Folman on Waltz with Bashir, was responsible for production design. The animation department was led by Yoni Godman.

The Congress is an international co-production produced by Opus Film (Poland), Pandora Film (Germany), Bridgit Folman Film Gang (Israel), ARP Selection (France), Entre Chien et Loup (Belgium), and Paul Thiltges Distribution (Luxembourg). Institutions that provided co-financing include the Polish Film Institute and the Silesian Film Fund. Animation work on the project was done at Orange Studio in Bielsko-Biała. World sales are handled by The Match Factory from Germany.