A psychological drama, Hel was initially a Zebra Film Studio production, with plans to start shooting two years ago. In the course of pre-production, the film moved to Polish Studio Filmowe KALEJDOSKOP (www.kalejdoskop.art.pl) with Zbigniew Domagalski as producer. The studio brought in Czech producer In Film Praha, and the one month shoot began, with a premiere planned for fall 2009.

"The planned budget of the movie is 2 million PLN (€440,000), with a 1.35 million PLN ( €297,000) in financing from the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl)," Domagalski told FNE. "About 20% of the budget is provided by the Czech producer In Film Praha."

Hel is the story of a psychiatrist, Piotr, who leads stable life with a younger woman as his partner. Their daily routine is disrupted when his grown-up son is admitted to a psychiatric ward where Piotr works.

Debuting feature director Dębska started her career as journalist and documentary filmmaker. The cast of Hel change in the course of the last two years. The cast now includes new lead actor Paweł Królikowski, Lesław Żurek, and a Czech star Anna Geislerova, winner of the last four Czech Lions for Best Actress.

Credits:

Director: Kinga Dębska
Scriptwriter: Kinga Dębska
Director of Photography: Wojciech Staroń
Production Designer: Marek Zawierucha
Producer: Zbigniew Domagalski
Production Company: Studio Filmowe KALEJDOSKOP
Co-producer: Rudolf Biermann, In Film Praha
Supported by Polish Film Institute

Cast:

Paweł Królikowski
Anna Geislerova
Lesław Żurek
Bartosz Żukowski
Monika Kwiatkowska-Dejczer
Katarzyna Cynke
Janusz Chabior
Bartłomiej Topa
Anna Gornostaj
Przemysław Bluszcz
Henryk Talar