"Corpus Christi" in the Giornate Degli Autori Competition at the IFF in Venice and TIFF





Co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, the latest film by Jan Komasa “Corpus Christi” was qualified to the Giornate degli Autori competition at the Venice International Film Festival. Shortly after the world premiere in Venice, the latest works by the creators of “Warsaw 44” and “Suicide Room” will be presented at the Toronto International Film Festival in the category of Contemporary World Cinema. 

“Corpus Christi” in the Giornate degli Autori competition

The latest film by Jan Komasa – “Corpus Christi” was qualified for the Giornate degli Autori competition at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. The section presents a maximum of twelve productions from around the world – they fight for the Director’s Award – awarded by the official jury of the competition, the BNL People’s Choice Award and Europa Cinemas Label, which supports international distribution.

The main goal of Giornate degli Autori is to draw attention to the high-quality cinema, which also shows the attention to every detail – especially innovation, originality and independence. This year’s, the sixteenth edition, starts on August 28 and will last until September 7. On October 11, shortly after the premiere in Venice, the film will be available in Polish cinemas.

Contemporary world cinema section

Shortly after the world premiere in Venice, the latest works by the creators of “Warsaw 44” and “Suicide Room” will be presented at the Toronto International Film Festival in the category of Contemporary World Cinema. This section shows non-English films from around the world that attract attention with a high artistic level. The Toronto International Film Festival is the most important North American film festival. The Canadian event is also one of the largest film markets and a great chance to gain international publicity. This year’s edition of the Festival starts on September 5 and will last 10 days.

“Corpus Christi”

“Corpus Christi”, inspired by real events, is a story about a man, who after leaving the Youth Detention Center decides to pretend to be a priest. His role is perfectly played by one of the greatest acting discoveries of recent years – Bartosz Bielenia. The remaining part of the cast is complemented by talented actors of the young generation – Tomasz Ziętek and Eliza Rycembel, the winners of the prestigious awards for the best actors of the festival in Gdynia – Aleksandra Konieczna and Łukasz Simlat, as well as Barbara Kurzaj, Zdzisław Wardejn and Leszek Lichota. Mateusz Pacewicz is the author of the awarded during the Script Pro competition screenplay for “Corpus Christi”. The cinematographer responsible for the shootings  is Piotr Sobociński Jr. The music for the film was composed by a duet of composers, Evgueni and Sacha Galperine, authors of music for such films as Andrei Zvyagintsev’s „Loveless”, Asghar Farhadi’s „Past” and recent François Ozon’s film “By the Grace of God”.

As we can read in the press release, “Corpus Christi” is an amazingly original project in Polish and European cinema – bold production based on taboos, touching the issue of social divisions and the complex spirituality of young people. “

About the movie

“Corpus Christi” is the story of a 20-year-old Daniel who experiences a spiritual transformation while living in a Youth Detention Center. He wants to become a priest but this is impossible because of his criminal record. When he is sent to work at a carpenter’s workshop in a small town, on arrival he dresses up as a priest and accidentally takes over the local parish. The arrival of the young, charismatic preacher is an opportunity for the local community to begin the healing process after a tragedy that happened there.

Credits

  • Genre: drama
  • Director: Jan Komasa
  • Screenplay: Mateusz Pacewicz
  • Production: Aurum Film
  • Producers: Leszek Bodzak, Aneta Hickinbotham
  • Creative producer: Krzysztof Rak
  • Co-production: CANAL +, WFS Walter Film Studio, Podkarpackie Film Commission, Les Contes Modernes
  • International sales agent: New Europe Film Sales
  • Distribution in Poland: Kino Świat
  • Co-financing: Polish Film Institute, CNC Cinemas du Monde – Institut Francais
  • Cinematography: Piotr Sobociński Jr.
  • Production design: Marek Zawierucha
  • Costumes: Dorota Roqueplo
  • Editing: Przemysław Chruścielewski
  • Music: Evgueni and Sacha Galperine
  • Cast: Bartosz Bielenia, Aleksandra Konieczna, Eliza Rycembel, Tomasz Ziętek, Łukasz Simlat, Leszek Lichota, Barbara Kurzaj, Zdzisław Wardejn.

More: www.giornatedegliautori.com

Polish presence in Toronto

This year’s program of the Festival in Toronto also included the Italian-Polish co-production “Sole” (Discovery section) co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, which Polish co-producer is Agnieszka Wasiak from Lava Films. The English-language debut of Małgorzata Szumowska “The Other Lamb” will also premiere in Toronto. The film will be shown as part of special shows. “The Other Lamb” will enter the screens of Polish cinemas in 2020.

Official site of the Venice Festival

Official site of the Toronto Festival

Based on a press release


23.07.2019