The Coldest Game is playing out in Warsaw
by Ola Salwa
- The Polish thriller directed by Łukasz Kośmicki is being shot in the English language, and stars Bill Pullman, Lotte Verbeek and James Bloor
It was literally the biggest gift from Joseph Stalin to the people of Poland – for decades, the Palace of Culture and Science symbolised the communist regime and served as one of Warsaw’s main landmarks. Now it is acting as a location for The Coldest Game [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Łukasz Kośmicki
film profile], a Cold War thriller revolving around a genius chess player, Joshua Mansky (Bill Pullman), who gets involved in a run-in between the American and Soviet counter-intelligence agencies. It’s set in the 1960s, and any wrong move could trigger the outbreak of WWIII. William Hurt was originally cast as Mansky, but after an accident on set, he had to be replaced by Pullman. During a press conference held in Warsaw in March, the Lost Highway actor said that he made an on-the-spot decision to join the project based on the script and a conversation with the film’s co-writer and director, Łukasz Kośmicki. “You can feel the texture of an artist in the first two minutes,” he explained.
Lotte Verbeek (Nothing Personal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Urszula Antoniak
interview: Urszula Antoniak
film profile], In Your Name [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and James Bloor (Dunkirk [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) also star in the movie as CIA agents, Evgenij Sudikhin (A Woman in Berlin [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Dark Planet) is the Soviet chess Grandmaster and Mansky’s opponent, while Robert Więckiewicz (True Crimes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Wałęsa. Man of Hope [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) plays the general manager of the Palace of Culture and Science.
The Coldest Game is the directorial debut by Kośmicki, who also co-wrote the script with Marcel Sawicki. Kośmicki is a well-known ad creator and producer, as well as a cinematographer and screenwriter (he wrote the famous Dark House together with that film’s director, Wojciech Smarzowski). The Polish crew includes Oscar-winning production designer Allan Starski (Schindler’s List, The Pianist [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), Oscar-nominated DoP Paweł Edelman (The Pianist, The Ghost Writer [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Oliver Twist [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Wałęsa. Man of Hope), composer Łukasz Targosz (Letters to Santa 3 [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Pitbull: New Orders [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), and top Polish make-up artists Ewa Drobiec (Hatred [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and Agnieszka Hodowana (Demon [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
film profile]). The film is being produced by Piotr Woźniak-Starak and Krzysztof Terej from Watchout Studio (Gods [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], The Art of Loving [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and Daniel Baur from K5 (Paterson [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]). All 41 shooting days are taking place on location in Warsaw, and principal photography will continue until 20 April. The production was supported by the Polish Film Institute, while the City of Warsaw and the management board of the Palace of Culture and Science are named as partners of the film.
As Krzysztof Terej stated during the press conference, the film will be released in 2019, “hopefully in February”. The Polish distributor is Next Film, and the worldwide distribution is being co-ordinated by K5 international. Hyde Park Entertainment Group is the sales agent for The Coldest Game.
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
