New Feature by Jerzy Skolimowski

Last Saturday Jerzy Skolimowski began shooting his latest feature, The Essence of Killing (working title). This latest feature from the director of 4 Nights with Anna will be shot this winter in Israel, Norway and Poland (in Warsaw and the Pieniny mountains).

Skolimowski’s new project is the story of an Afghan convict, taken captive by US troops for killing three American soldiers. He is then transferred to Europe for interrogation. But he manages to escape from prison and commit further crimes.

Producers have revealed that the fugitive will be played by Vincent Gallo – American director and actor whose acting credits include Goodfellas by Martin Scorsese and Arizona Dream by Emir Kusturica. French actress Emmanuelle Seigner is also to appear in the film.

The Essence of Killing is a Polish-Norwegian-Irish-Hungarian co-production. The international crew include a number of Polish filmmakers. Adam Sikora, winner of the Silver Frog at the 2001 Camerimage film festival, who previously worked with Skolimowski on 4 Nights with Anna, will serve as director of photography. Milena Fiedler will edit the film.

The film is produced by Skopia Film, with support from the Polish Film Institute, Eurimages, the Irish Film Board, the Norwegian Film Institute and the Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary (MMKA). Canal+ Cyfrowy will co-produce on the Polish side, while foreign co-producers include Element Pictures, Cylinder Pictures and Mythberg Films.

After the first stage of shooting in Israel, the crew moved to Warsaw this week. Shooting is expected to wrap at the end of February.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun