20-06-2011

Moscow IFF Competition: In the Name of the Devil

By Katarzyna Grynienko

    Inspired by true events, Polish director and screenwriter Barbara Sass creates a film about crossing the limits of faith and madness behind the walls of a nunnery, In the Name of the Devil. The film had its world premiere in competition at the 36th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, with the domestic premier planned for September 2011.

    {mosimage}The story is based on a mutiny by the Bethany nuns in Kazimierz, who refused to implement a Vatican decision to change their leader. This behavior led to further investigations of the convent and disturbing changes within the rules that the nuns practiced. In the Name of the Devil follows Anna, a young girl who became a nun to heal her emotional wounds. The strict Mother Superior successfully protects the women from the dangers of the outside world until a charismatic priest appears to help her head the monastery and claims that God can be experienced carnally. The new forms of faith practiced are scaring and confusing for the young nun.

    Sass (born in 1936) is a highly praised Polish film and television director best known for her challenging, controversial dramas Dziewczęta z Nowolipek (Nowolipki Girls, 1985), Pajęczarki (Spider Women, 1993) and Pokuszenie (Temptation, 1995). Her films were frequently awarded at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia (www.fpff.pl) and in 1996 she recieved the FIPRESCI Prize for Temptation at the IFF at Karlovy Vary (www.kviff.com).

    {mosimage}The film was shot between June and September 2010 in the nunnery in Orneta and in Pisarzowice and Krosno. The film is produced by the Documentary and Feature Film Production Company (WFDiF, www.wfdif.com.pl) in co-production with Syrena Films (www.syrenafilms.com). The lead producers for are Włodzimierz Niderhaus, the Director of WFDiF and Waldemar Leszczyński, the president of Syrena Films. The budget of the film was 4.8 million PLN (EUR 1.2 million) with 3 million PLN in financing from the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl).

    The producer told FNE that In The Name Of The Devil was also selected for the Main Competition at the 33rd International Film Festival in Moscow (www.moscowfilmfestival.ru) and that it will be available in distribution abroad. Distribution and world sales are managed by Syrena Films.

    Credits:

    Director - Barbara Sass-Zdort
    Screenwriter - Barbara Sass-Zdort
    Cinematographer - Wiesław Zdort
    Music - Michał Lorenc
    Production Design - Wojciech Żogała
    Sound - Wiesław Znyk, Aleksander Musiałowski
    Film Editing: Anna Wagner
    Costume Design - Maria Kostrzewska, Jolanta Włodarczyk
    Production manager -Paweł Mantorski
    Production company - Documentary and Feature Film Production Company
    Producer - Włodzimierz Niderhaus
    Co-production -Syrena Films
    Distribution - Syrena Films
    World Sales - Syrena Films
    Co-financing - Polish film Institute

    Cast:

    Katarzyna Zawadzka
    Mariusz Bonaszewski
    Anna Radwan
    Roma Gąsiorowska
    Marian Dziędziel
    and others


    Production contacts:

    WFDiF ( Documentary and Feature Film Production Company)

    Chełmska 21
    00-724 Warsaw
    tel.(+48) 22 559 32 06
    fax.(+48) 22 840 50 67
    email. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    www.wfdif.com.pl

    Syrena Films

    Królowej Marysieńki 20
    02-954 Warsaw
    tel.(+48 22) 550 11 70
    fax.(+48 22) 885 41 00
    email. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    www.syrenafilms.com

    SPONSORED by Moscow International Film Festival
    http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/

    Published in Poland
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