The Busan International Film Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious film festivals in Asia. It presents celluloid creativity from talented filmmakers hailing from all over the world. Amongst guests invited in 2015 was Jerzy Zieliński with his debut as director. Held in South Korea, the event draws around 200,000 fans of world cinema every year. Marking its 20th anniversary, 2015 edition began on 1st October and run until 10th October, 2015.
Presented at the festival in Busan, King of Life is the story of Edward, a corporate businessman whose life is an endless stream of annoyance and frustration. One day, he ends up involved in a serious accident which completely transforms his worldview. Edward quits his job so that he can uncover the "king of life" within himself. He proves to himself that it's the small pleasures, such as spending time with family and friends, rather than a career and money, which allow one to make the most of every day.
Responsible for the screenplay is a lawyer from Warsaw, Fadi Chakkour, making his debut as a screenwriter. It was precisely his story that convinced the eminent cinematographer Jerzy Zieliński (Dodgeball, Galaxy Quest) to take up the challenge of directing his first movie.
In the movie we can see Polish actor Robert Więckiewicz in a completely different role, as he plays a man who becomes infected with a positive attitude to life. He is accompanied in the movie by such Polish actors as Magdalena Popławska, Bartłomiej Topa, Krzysztof Czeczot, Piotr Głowacki as well as Jerzy Trela and Jan Peszek. Responsible for the visuals is Jan Holoubek, cinematographer for films such as Supermarket and Świadek Koronny ("Star Witness").
Source: press materials, edited by BS, translated by AZ.