On the set of Zimna wojna (Cold War)

On the set of co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, Zimna wojna (Cold War) we talked to the director and co-writer Paweł Pawlikowski, producer Ewa Puszczyńska, director of photography Łukasz Żal, costume designer Aleksandra Staszko and actors Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot. The latest work by the Oscar-winning director of Ida competes for the Palme d’Or at the prestigious Cannes festival!

Zimna wojna (Cold War)

tells the story of the great and difficult love of two people who cannot be together but also cannot be apart. The lead roles are played by Tomasz Kot and Joanna Kulig, with supporting performances from Agata Kulesza and Borys Szyc. The events depicted in Zimna wojna (Cold War) take place in Poland and the slowly re-awakening Europe of the 1950s and 1960s, and they are set against a unique soundtrack which combines Polish folk music with jazz and songs from the Parisian bars of the last century.

Creators

Paweł Pawlikowski is not only the director of the film but he also – along with Janusz Głowacki and Piotr Borkowski – co-wrote the screenplay. Katarzyna Sobańska and Marcel Sławiński were responsible for production design, and the director of photography was Łukasz Żal. Shooting began in January 2017 and was completed at the beginning of August 2017. The movie was shot in Poland, France and Croatia.

The picture is a Polish-French-British co-production. The Polish producer of the film is Ewa Puszczyńska, from Opus Film, while the British producer is Apocalypso Pictures, and the French producer is MK Productions. The film was co-financed by PISF – Polish Film Institute, Film4, British Film Institute, CNC, ARTE France, Canal+ Poland and the Eurimages fund. The co-producers of the picture include the Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission, Łódź Film Commission, Silesian Film Fund and Podkarpackie Film Commission. MK2 Films and Protagonist Pictures are responsible for international sales and Kino Świat is the Polish distributor.

Premiere in Cannes

Zimna wojna (Cold War) is the first Polish production in 28 years to feature in the Main Competition of the prestigious Cannes festival. It’s premiere took place on May 10th.

Paweł Pawlikowski’s film competes for the Palme d’Or with 20 other productions. The winner will be chosen by a jury chaired by the actress Cate Blanchett with Chang Chen, Ava DuVernay, Robert Guédiguian, Khadja Nin, Léa Seydoux, Kristen Stewart, Denis Villeneuve and Andrey Zvyagintsev.