"Asiunia and Her Lucky Father" - Work in Progress

Work on the animated movie about the history of Professor Joanna Papuzińska entitled Asiunia and her lucky father is in progress.

This animated movie is the first of its kind in Poland! It’s war — shown from the perspective of a young girl, a peer of the audience. The film will touch upon the issues of identity, historical heritage, significance of family ties — all in a mellow, visually enthralling tones without cruelty. Asiunia and her lucky father is a true family story of Joanna Papuzińska, children’s favourite author of fables and poems.

The creators of  Asiunia and ger lucky father are young, ambitious and talented. The person behind the idea of the project is Ewelina Gordziejuk, who together with her EGoFILM studio is also the producer; the director is the Polish-Hungarian artist Tamás Ducki — one of the most acclaimed young European animators. The narrator will be voiced by Danuta Stenka, and the animation will be based on characteristic, original illustrations by Maciej Szymanowicz. The script (an adaptation of two books by Joanna Papuzińska) was written by the well-known film and theatre critic and teacher at the Lodz Film School Łukasz Maciejewski; the score — an inevitable part of the project — will be composed by Michał Jacaszek — an outstanding composer of experimental electroacoustic music. The sound designer will be Radosław Ochnio, this year’s winner of the European Film Award.

“Someone might ask if such stories should be told at all, and if yes, in what way. The war is always the domain of the adults, but it never fails to affect children. I decided not to treat the subject as taboo and to try to speak about it, but in a skillful way” — says Ewelina Gordziejuk, producer and author of the idea.

“Showing small, private histories is extremely important for the new generation to preserve the knowledge and memory about the uprising and the war, which still lay the foundations of our national identity” — adds the director Tamás Ducki.

“The story of Asiunia is touching non-fiction” — concludes Jan Ołdakowski, the director of the Warsaw Uprising Museum. “The language is simple and understandable for a young child. For many years, the Warsaw Uprising Museum has held educational projects to help children understand what war is, without frightening them or showing cruelty”.

As part of the conducted development, co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, the crew has produced a movie trailer addressed primarily to children at the age of early education. The project Asiunia and her lucky father received patronage of the Warsaw Uprising Museum and Komitet Ochrony Praw Dziecka [The Committee for the Protection of Children’s Rights] and the Polish section of the IBBY awards issued a recommendation for Asiunia and her lucky father.

The production is due to be finished in November 2018.

The film’s official website: www.asiunia.com.pl.

Press release