New Films by Holland and Lewandowski

January 15 brought the launch of shooting for the political thriller Kret (working title). It is the feature debut by Rafael Lewandowski.

Kret tells the story of Zygmunt, a “Solidarity” man who is accused of co-operating with the Communist secret police as a secret agent known as “Kret” (Polish word for “mole”) during one of the miners’ strikes of the 1980s.

Starring in the film are: Borys Szyc, Marian Dziędziel, Wojciech Pszoniak, and Magdalena Czerwińska.

Lewandowski is a French-Polish director, author of acclaimed documentaries The Art of Silence (Sztuka milczenia) and Children of Solidarnosc (Piosenka i życie). Kret marks his debut as a full-length feature director and screenwriter.

The film will mostly shot in Bielsko-Biała throughout January and February. Shooting will also take place on location at Krakow’s Pyrzowice airport and other locations in Silesia, including the courthouse in Katowice and the “Makoszowy” mine in Zabrze. Kret is a French-Polish co-production. Some scenes will also be shot in France.

In early February, Agnieszka Holland will also start shooting her latest feature in Berlin. The shooting schedule will then have the crew moving to Leipzig, and on to Łódź in March.

Hidden (Ukryci) is a co-production between Poland, Germany, and Canada. The film tells the story of Leopold Socha, a Polish man who went from small-time crook to hero over the course of the Second World War. He selflessly decided to hide a group of Jews from the Lvov ghetto in underground canals. Risking his own life and the lives of his loved ones, he managed to save a large number of men, women and children by helping them during their 14 months of hiding underground.

Socha will be played by Robert Więckiewicz. Also starring in the movie are Agnieszka Grochowska, Kinga Preis, Julia Kijowska, Marcin Bosak, and the German actor Benno Fürmann. Jolanta Dylewska, acclaimed cinematographer (multiple awards for Tulpan) and director of Po-lin. Slivers of Memory, will serve as director of photography.

Kret is produced by Metro Films and set for release in autumn. Hidden is produced by Studio Filmowe Zebra. Both features are co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun