25-05-2010

Gdynia Polish Film Festival Competition spotlight: Million Dollars

By Katarzyna Grynienko

    With his Gdynia main competition film Million Dollar, Polish director Janusz Kondratiuk crafts a fast-paced comedy about contemporary Poland with people adrift following the transformation of the country.

    {mosimage}The story follows Bożena, a pregnant official in a big bank, who is convinced that there is no real life without shopping. Surrounded by the glamorous and fake reality of her work place, she is disappointed with living in an old apartment house in Gdańsk. Her husband, an unsuccessful klezmer saxophonist, also doesn't match the lifestyle that she dreams of for herself while watching commercials. When she discovers that her neighbor, an old and recently widowed lady, has inherited one million dollars, Bożena and some neighbors set out to intercept the small fortune and make their dreams come true.

    {mosimage}Bożena is played by Kinga Preis, one of the most critically acclaimed Polish actress of the last decade, awarded the Best Female Performance at both Gdynia IFF and the Polish Academy Eagles gala for Silence by Michał Rosa (2001) and The Collector by Feliks Falk (2005). More recently, she was awarded the Best Female Performance Eagle for Four Nights With Anna by Jerzy Skolimowski (2009) and Dark House by Wojciech Smarzowski (2010). The cast includes popular film and television actor Tomasz Karolak, Jakub Gierszał, Joanna Kulig, Jiri Pomeje and Barbara Kraftówna.

    {mosimage}Million Dollars was shot in August and September 2009 on location in Gdańsk. The film is produced by Agencja Filmowa Profilm (www.profilm.com.pl) with a budget of 5 million PLN (EUR 1.2 million) with 2 million PLN financing input from the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl). The movie will open in Polish cinemas in October 2010 and is nationally distributed by Syrena Films (www.syrenafilms.com).


    Crew:

    Director - Janusz Kondratiuk
    Screenwriter- Dominik Rettinger-Wieczorkowski, Janusz Kondratiuk
    Cinematographer - Piotr Lenar
    Set design - Marek Zawierucha
    Music - Leszek Możdżer

    {mosimage}Cast:

    Kinga Preis
    Tomasz Karolak
    Jakub Gierszał
    Joanna Kulig
    Hanna Konarowska
    Andrzej Grabowski
    Rafał Mohr
    Jiri Pomeje
    Barbara Krafftówna

    Production contact:

    {mosimage}PROFILM Agencja Filmowa Sp. z o.o.
    Al. Niepodległości 809A
    81-810 Sopot
    tel: /058/ 524 73 72
    fax: /058/ 524 73 70
    www.profilm.com.pl