Zohar Strauss is going to perform the role of a rabbi in the "A Grain of Truth" movie. In the picture: Zohar Strauss in "Eyes wide open", photo: Against Gravity
"Ziarno prawdy" is the second feature film by award-winning director Borys Lankosz, creator of "Rewers". The script, based on the novel of the same name, was written by Lankosz and the author of the book, Zygmunt Miłoszewski.
Robert Więckiewicz had previously been announced as starring as the protagonist, the prosecutor Teodor Szacki, and now his co-stars have been revealed. The cast consists of famed Polish actors - Jerzy Trela, Barbara Sobieraj, Magdalena Walach, Joanna Sydor, Andrzej Konopka, Philip Lenkovsky, Arkadiusz Jakubik and Jacek Poniedziałek.
Additionally, the role of a rabbi, Zygmunt, will be performed by the famous Israeli actor Zohar Strauss – known from films such as “Lebanon” and “Eyes Wide Open”.
I'll be playing in Polish, but I do not know the language. I see this problem merely as a technical problem. It is simply an issue that I have to struggle through in order to play it. But it is important to show how wonderful this character is (...). My family comes from Poland and I’ve decided to take part in the project to confront my past (...). Stereotypes are built on lack of knowledge. The world is getting smaller, thanks to the air transport and the Internet. As a result, we become neighbours, even if we do not live next to each other. Most people who are in our age today have an obligation to try understanding each other. We can achieve this by looking at our past. – said Zohar Strauss
In the novel "A Grain of Truth", the main character, Teodor Szacki, moves from Warsaw to Sandomierz, a city in southern Poland. After his divorce, he wants to start a new life in a quiet place. Sandomierz, however, turns out not to be as peaceful as it appears. The corpse of Eliżbieta Budnik, a well-known social activist, is found under the walls of the former synagogue. A few days later, her husband – a local politician and chairman of the city council, disappears. Szacki is asked to investigate. He faces a plethora of obstacles accompanied by a media frenzy. The thriller touches on issues of Polish-Jewish relations, as well as a story that happened over sixty years earlier.
The première of the film is planned for 2015. Shooting starts 30th March.
Source: the Polish Institure of Film Art, echodnia.eu, ed. & translated: Katarzyna Maksimiuk, 18.03.2014