Konopka launches into features with Fear of Falling
Bartek Konopka, who was recently shortlisted for the 2010 Best Documentary Short Oscar for Rabbit à la Berlin (see news), is making his debut feature, Fear of Falling, with the artistic assistance of Agnieszka Holland (Copying Beethoven). Having just kicked off, shooting will take place until spring 2010 in Warsaw, the Silesia region and the Tatras mountains.
Co-written by Piotr Borkowski and Konopka, the screenplay (winner of the Special HBO Prize in the latest Hartley-Merill competition) focuses on the difficult love between a son and his mentally ill father.
Played by Krzysztof Stroiński (Golden Eagle for Best Actor this year for his performance in Michał Rosa’s Scratch [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), the father finds it hard to accept the breakdown of his family and shake off memories of the communist regime. Meanwhile, his son, played by Michal Dorociński (The Reverse [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agata Buzek - actress
interview: Borys Lankosz
film profile]; Best Supporting Actor at Gdynia 2008), enters his father’s world and discovers his past and makes the painful journey towards discovering his identity.
Konopka’s debut feature looks set to be a psychological drama. The title refers to the fear of reaching heights, of fulfilling one’s desires and ambitions, of living in tune with one’s needs. The story is set in the present day with flashbacks to the early 1980s.
Fear of Falling will be lensed by DoP Piotr Niemyjski and edited by Jacek Barzan (Warsaw, Pitbull [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). Produced by Munk Studio for the Polish Filmmakers Association, the film will be released theatrically in autumn 2011.
(Translated from French)
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