The Red Spider follows the life of Karol, a young boy who discovers his murder impulses after witnessing a brutal crime. The inspiration for the film was the life and crime of two legendary serial killers in communist Poland. "The film tells the story of a young man, who discovers in himself an impulse to kill. Karol is fascinated by the evil. Our film is based on the legend of Karol Kot from Cracow and is a story of madness that fulfills a person's darkest passions and also destroys him," said the director.
The main character is played by Filip Pławiak, who is accompanied by Adam Woronowicz, Małgorzata Foremniak and Karolina Kominek . "I am fascinated by the immensity of death, the fear of dying and the impact that fear has on human lives, as well as the decisions people make. (...) My obsession with death is a result of the neurosis I acquired at home, where there were conflicts and a lot of pressure. I don’t have time to treat it because I’m too busy. I think film is a better therapy", Koszałka also said.
The film was produced by MD4 in coproduction with the Krakow Festival Office, Fog'n'Desire, Kraków Film Commission, Orange, Sokol Kollar and Zentropa International Poland. The production had 80% of funding from Poland, with 645,300 EUR /2.8 m PLN from the Polish Film Institute, almost 138,276 EUR /600,000 PLN from the Krakow Film Fund, and also private investment. The Czech Cinematography Fund gave a grant of 55,521 EUR / 1.5 m CZK and the Slovak Audiovisual Fund gave 36,000 EUR.
The film premiered internationally at the Karlovy Vary IFF and gained international recognition, winning Best Film Award at Cairo International Film Critics Week 2015 and International Film Critics’ Award at the Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, Wiesbaden goEast. The Red Spider opened in Polish cinemas on 20 November 2015 distributed by Kino Świat with 65,095 admissions to date.
Production Information:
MD4
ul. Wiśniowa 55 m 14
02-528 Warsaw
Poland
Phone: +48 22 126 89 47
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Fog’n’Desire Films
Voroněžská 24
Prague 10
101 00
Czech Republic
www.fogndesirefilms.com
Victor Taus: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sokol Kollar
Sulekova 32
Bratislava
Slovakia
Mobile: +421 948 629 990
Krakow Festival Office
ul. Wygrana 2
30-311 Kraków, Poland
tel. +48 12 354 25 00
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Krakow Film Commission
ul. Wygrana 2
30-311 Kraków, Poland
tel: 12 354 25 00
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Zentropa International Poland
Narbutta 25 a, room 211
02-536 Warszawa
Poland
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
http://www.zentropa.dk/international/polen/zentropapolen
Credits:
Director: Marcin Koszałka
Sceenwriters: Marcin Koszałka, Łukasz M. Maciejewski
DoP: Marcin Koszałka
Cast: Filip Pławiak. Adam Woronowicz, Julia Kijowska, Wojciech Zieliński, Małgorzata Foremniak, Marek Kalita
