"THE RED SPIDER" AWARDED IN ARRAS

Czerwony pająk (The Red Spider), a film directed by Marcin Koszałka and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, received the prestigious Prix de la Critique award of the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics at the Arras International Film Festival.

Polish Film Wins Critics’ Prize

Marcin Koszałka’s Czerwony pająk (The Red Spider) screened in the European Competition at the Arras International Film Festival. The Polish film received the prestigious Prix de la Critique award of the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. The festival’s Grand Prize went to Iceland’s Fúsi (The Virgin Mountain), a film directed by Dágur Kari.

Two years ago, Dziewczyna z szafy (The Girl from the Wardrobe) by Bodo Kox received the festival’s second prize, the Silver Atlas (l’Atlas d’argent) and the Youth Jury prize. At the 2011 edition of the festival, the Audience Award and the award of the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics went to Kret (The Mole) by Rafael Lewandowski.

Polish Presence at the Arras IFF

The festival lineup also featured Czarodziejska góra (The Magic Mountain), a Polish-French-Romanian co-production directed by Anca Damian, which screened in the festival’s Visions de l’Est section. The European Discoveries section feeatured Hrútar/Rams, an Icelandic-Danish-Polish co-production directed by Grímur Hákonarson. The film’s Polish co-producer is Aeroplan Film.

Czerwony pająk (The Red Spider)

Czerwony pająk (The Red Spider), made as a Polish-Czech-Slovak co-production, is a fictional story based on real events that took place in communist Poland, in 1960s Krakow. Karol is a talented teenager from a good family; he is successful in sports, he is well-liked by his peers, and his parents are nothing if not proud of his accomplishments. Everything changes after Karol accidentally witnesses a murder. His attempt at uncovering the truth about the murderer slowly transforms into a journey into the darkest recesses of human nature. The film is a story of the mechanisms that come into play as a serial killer is born.

Czerwony pająk (The Red Spider) was co-written, directed and lensed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Marcin Koszałka. The films marks his feature debut. Czerwony pająk (The Red Spider) stars Filip Pławiak and Adam Woronowicz, with supporting performances by Julia Kijowska, Małgorzata Foremniak, Marek Kalita, Wojciech Zieliński, Przemysław Bluszcz, and Piotr Głowacki. The film was produced by MD4 Mental Disorder 4, co-produced by Fog’n’DesireFilms (Czech Republic), SokolKollar (Slovakia), Orange Polska, the Krakow Festival Office, the Krakow Film Commission, Zentropa Int Poland, and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, the Regional Film Fund in Krakow, and film funds from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Theatrical Premiere on November 27

Czerwony pająk (The Red Spider) had its world premiere at the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, screening in Main Competition. The film will be released theatrically in Poland on November 27, 2015. Distribution in Poland is handled by Kino Świat.

The website of the Arras International Film Festival is available at: www.arrasfilmfestival.com.

The film’s Facebook fanpage is available at: www.facebook.com/TheRedSpiderFilm.

Based on the press release

Translated by Karolina Kołtun