12-03-2014

Polish-Danish Word Heads to Scandinavia

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    The Word by Anna Kazejak The Word by Anna Kazejak Phillip Skraba, Kino Świat

    WARSAW: Sales company LevelK has picked up Anna Kazejak's new drama The Word with distribution planned for Poland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

    Polish producer Opus Film hopes that their newest project will repeat the success of Paweł Pawlikowski's Ida (Opus Film, Canal Plus Cyfrowy, Phoenix Film Ivestment), which is doing very well on the international market and was sold to over 30 countries. The Word will premiere in Polish cinemas on 14 March 2014, distributed by Kino Świat.

    Łuksz Dzięcioł from Opus Film talked to FNE about distribution plans for the title. "Our coproducer from Denmark is SF Film Production is also one of the biggest distributors in the region so we are aiming for regular screenings in Denmark, Sweden and Norway." The international sales agent for this picture is LevelK.

    The Word was shot in June and July 2013 on location in Szczecin. The film received support from the Polish Film Institute and the Pomeranian Film Fund. The main character is Lila, a teenager struggling with the aches of first love. The picture is a first coproduction for director Anna Kazejak who is most recognized for her work on Ode To Joy (Akson Studio) and Flying Pigs (Akson Studio).

    The film qualified to the Generation section and the Generation14 plus competition at the 64th IFF in Berlin where it sparked great interest from international distributors. "Currently we have a couple of countries interested in the film, but we are still in the negotiation stages. Along with Jesper Morthorst, our Danish coproducer, we tried to make this story universal and I think we gave Anna Kazejak the comfort of telling her story in a way that will be appealing to international audiences," Dzięcioł told FNE.