21/12/2009

After 14 years of inactivity, followed by a sensational comeback with Borys Lankosz’s hit The Reverse [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agata Buzek - actress
interview: Borys Lankosz
film profile], KADR studio has started production on another feature, which is currently shooting: Sala Samobójców (“Room of the Suicidal People") by Jan Komasa (Ode to Joy).

The film centres on 18-year-old Dominik (Jakub Gierszał), who is from a good family background and has everything he could desire. He attends one of the best (and most expensive) high schools, dresses in clothes by the best brands, spends his holidays in exotic countries and has parents who promise him everything he wants...except for their presence.

This easy life depresses Dominik, who looks for thrills and experiences on the Internet. In cyberspace, he meets Sylwia (Roma Gąsiorowska) whom he invites to play Second Life, going straight to the "suicidal people’s” room, a contact platform for those who want to end their life.

Portrayed as a member of the "emo" youth subculture and hypersensitive in nature, Dominik hides away in his bedroom after being humiliated by his friends, cuts himself off from others in order to immerse himself completely in the closed world of his computer, like a victim of "hikikomori", a phenomenon that is widespread in Japan and affects young people who withdraw from real life and become dependent on an artificially-generated reality.

Besides Gierszał and Gąsiorowska, the cast also includes Agata Kulesza, Kinga Preis, Krzysztof Dracz, Anna Ilczuk and Wiesław Komasa.

The film has a budget of PLN 3.1m (€0.77m), including PLN 1.5m (€0.38m) in backing from the Polish Film Institute (PISF). Co-produced by Studio Postprodukcyjne Orka, MediaBrigade and IFDF Odra Film, Sala Samobójców will be distributed by Kino Świat International. It is expected to be released theatrically in May 2010.

(Translated from French)