"MARIE CURIE" IN SPANISH CINEMAS
Maria Skłodowska-Curie (Marie Curie), a film directed by Marie Noëlle and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, was released theatrically in Spain on June 2.
Maria Skłodowska-Curie (Marie Curie)
Maria Skłodowska-Curie (Marie Curie) is the true account of the extraordinary life of the woman who discovered two elements, polonium and radium, but also a portrait of the side of Marie Curie that the world never knew — loving mother and wife, charismatic woman, struggling with dilemmas and contradictions. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and to this day remains the only woman to have received it twice. She was the first woman in Europe to earn a doctoral degree, and in 1906 she became a professor at Sorbonne, which was without precedent in France.
Spanish Theatrical Premiere
Maria Skłodowska-Curie (Marie Curie) by Marie Noëlle was released theatrically in Spain on June 2, 2017. Distribution in Spain is handled by Betta Pictures.
International Co-Production Supported by the Polish Film Institute
Maria Skłodowska-Curie was made in co-production between Germany, Poland, France, and Belgium. The film is produced by Pokromski Studio, which has previously worked on a number of European co-productions, including the Polish-German film Vintervater (2011). Marie Curie is co-produced by P’Artisan Filmproduktion (Germany) and Sepia Production (France). The film was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, the Krakow Festival Office, and EC1 Łódź – City of Culture in Łódź.
“This film is a German-Polish-French co-production with support from the Belgian financing system. It took us a while to raise the budget and it wasn’t easy. Especially since another project about Marie Curie was also in development; a project that in the end was never made. One of our crucial decisions was casting Karolina Gruszka in the lead, which opened the path to gaining popularity in Poland. Most of principal photography took place in Poland. We filmed in Łódź, Krakow, Łeba, but also in Berlin, Munich and Paris,” said producer Mikołaj Pokromski at the film’s press conference.
The key creative team of the film is quite international too: director – Marie Noëlle (France), cinematographer – Michał Englert (Poland), production designer – Eduard Krajewski (Germany), costume designer – Cristobal Pidre, Florence Scholtes (Belgium), make-up artists – Waldemar Pokromski, Mira Wojtczak (Poland), composer – Bruno Coulais (France).
Karolina Gruszka as Nobel Prize Winner Marie Curie
photo courtesy of Kino Świat
The role of Marie Curie in Marie Noëlle’s film was played by Karolina Gruszka. “I started working on the part by reading everything I could find on Marie Curie. All her existing correspondence and her journal. It was the journal that allowed me insight into her feminine sensibility. I discovered what a free spirit she was, in every area. I find that very inspiring,” said Gruszka at the press conference.
The film features supporting performances by Izabela Kuna, Daniel Olbrychski, Piotr Głowacki, Jan Frycz, André Wilms, Charles Berling, Sabin Tambrea, and Samuel Finzi.
A Female Scientist in a Male-Dominated World
“In this film I touch upon the problems Marie Curie faced as a female scientist. I wanted to show how self-sufficient she was in her way of thinking, and what her personality was. It was difficult to show her many faces in one film. I can hardly compare myself to her, but there is research that shows that only 12% of directors in Germany are women, and if we factor in television then the number drops to under 1%. That’s why I am active in an organisation that promotes female filmmakers,” said Marie Noëlle at the press conference.
World Premiere in Toronto and Awards
The world premiere of Marie Curie took place at the 41st Toronto International Film Festival. The film also screened in Main Competition at the prestigious Camerimage International Festival of the Art of Cinematography. Marie Curie also received the Bavarian Film Awards for Best Directing and Best Production Design.
Polish Theatrical Release on March 3
World sales are handled by Film Boutique. Distribution in Poland is handled by Kino Świat. The film was released theatrically in Poland on March 3, 2017.
Paulina Bez
Translated by Karolina Kołtun