Israeli director Ari Folman has begun filming a feature film based on a sci-fi novel by Stanisław Lem. The shooting of "The Congress" began Los Angeles on February 4, 2011
The screenplay is based on the short novel Futurological Congress by
Stanisław Lem. International stars have been cast in the main roles, including Robin Wright, Harvey Keitel, Paul Giamatti, Danny Huston, Sami Gayle, Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Lem's narrator and the hero of his story is Ijon Tichy, a figure who also appears in Lem's series The Star Diaries. Released in 1971, The Futurological Congress presents a dystopian vision of society, in which the futurological nightmare is shown through the image of a world, whose material and spiritual poverty must be alleviated by hallucinations induced by chemical substances. These active substances are sprayed into the air, making the perceived "reality" seem to the residents of this world an idyllic projection of their dreams and desires.
Michał Englert is the film's cinematographer. His previous work includes
Małgorzata Szumowska's
33 Scenes from Life. David Polonsky, who had already collaborated with Folman on Waltz with Bashir, is responsible for set design as well as the concept of visual animation. As with Waltz with Bashir, the film will be a combination of traditional video and animation, with some of it set in the future.
The film is an international co-production from the Pandora Film (Germany), Bridgit Folman Film Gang (Israel), Entre Chien et Loup (Belgium), Paul Thiltges Distribution (Luxembourg) and ARP Selection (France). Polish co-producer of the film is Piotr Dzięcioł's Opus Film. The project has received support from the Polish Film Institute.
Source: www.stopklatka.pl