World premiere of "The Prince and the Dybbuk" at the 74th Venice IFF

Książę i dybuk (The Prince and the Dybbuk), a documentary film directed by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski, will screen in the Venice Classics Documentary on Cinema section at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. The film’s Venice screening will mark its world premiere.

A film by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski screening at the Venice IFF

The documentary Książę i dybuk (The Prince and the Dybbuk) by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski will screen at the Venice IFF in its Venice Classics Documentary on Cinema section, which showcases documentary films about the history of cinema alongside classic digitally restored films. The film’s Venice screening marks its world premiere.

Książę i dybuk (The Prince and the Dybbuk) will compete for the award for best documentary on cinema and art. Awards in the Venice Classics section will be awarded by a jury led by director and screenwriter Giuseppe Piccioni.

A documentary journey on the trail of Michał Waszyńskiego

Książę i dybuk (The Prince and the Dybbuk) is a cinematic journey on the trail of Michał Waszyński, author of many pre-war movies featuring Eugeniusz Bodo, director of the mystical, Jewish film Dybuk (Dybbuk), and producer of Hollywood hits featuring Sophia Loren and Claudia Cardinale.

This film by Niewiera and Rosołowski tries to shed light on the mystery that was Waszyński; a man who often changed his identity and re-wrote his own biography from scratch.

People who crossed paths with him remember him as a distinguished aristocrat, notorious liar, Jewish vagabond, homosexual, and husband to an Italian countess, all in one.

Polish-German Co-Production Supported by the Polish Film Institute

The film was written and directed by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski, authors of the award-winning documentary Efekt domina (The Domino Effect). The film was lensed by Piotr Rosołowski.

The film was made as a Polish-German co-production, produced by Krakow-based company Film Art Production (Małgorzata Zacharko) and two Berlin-based partners: Kundschafter Filmproduktion (Matthias Miegel) and zero one film (Ann Carolin Renninger). Other parties on board include TVP Kultura, Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg, Filmoteka Narodowa – Instytut Audiowizualny, Chimney Poland, and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. The film was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, the Polish-German Film Fund, and Eurimages.

The project has also been supported by the Nipkow Programm, the 18th Bremer Dokumentarfilm Förderpreis, DEFA Stiftung, participated in the ArchiDoc workshops, and was presented at the Pitching du Réel – Visions du Réel, IDFA Forum 2015, MIA Market Rome 2016, and at Docs to go! within the framework of DOC LAB POLAND 2017 in Krakow.

Książę i dybuk (The Prince and the Dybbuk) will be released theatrically in Poland in autumn 2018.

The 74th Venice International Film Festival runs from August 30 through September 9, 2017.

Based on the producer’s press release

27.07.2017