The film is Jan Komasa's feature debut - he also wrote the screenplay of the film. This is the first production in Poland where digitally created avatars are equally prominent as live actors. The work on animating the main character took over a year. Jan Komasa previous writing credits include Oda do radości / Ode to Joy.
Komasa's film tells the story of Dominik, a teenage boy who has everything - friends, the prettiest girl in school, rich parents who give him money for clothes, gadgets and parties. One day he meets a mysterious girl who introduces him to an online social network. It is intriguing and dangerous. He joins a "suicide room", a place from which there is no escape. Dominik, trapped in his own feelings, is embroiled in a deadly plot - he loses what he values the most.
Sala samobójców / Suicide Room premieres at the Berlin Film Festival on February 12. Every year, nearly 6,000 films from around the world are submitted to compete in the festival.
The Panorama section within the Official Programme presents new works by well-known directors, as it showcases debut films and exciting new discoveries. The selection of films gives an overview of trends in art-house world cinema. It attempts to bridge the divide between artistic vision and commercial interests. An intended effect of the section is to embolden film buyers to be open to films with controversial subjects or unconventional aesthetic styles - a phenomenon which has become a trademark of the section.
Thanks to the joint efforts of film studios KADR and the Polish Film Institute it is the first Polish film to acquire an international sales agent while still in the production phase.
Suicide Room stars: Roma Gąsiorowska, Agata Kulesza, Krzysztof Pieczyński. Dominik is played by Jakub Gierszał, this year's graduate of the Theatre Academy in Krakow. The film comes to the Polish screen on March 4, 2011.
Przemyslaw Wojcieszek's feature film Made in Poland is also being screened at the Berlinale. Starring Piotr Wawer Jr., Janusz Chabior, Przemyslaw Bluszcz, Magdalena Kuta-Jastrezebska, Wieslaw Cichy, the black-and-white film centres around the life of Bogus. Bogus has gone from altar boy to an angry young man who represents the revolt of contemporary youths who seem to be fighting for no particular goals or ideals. It is a raw film full of anger, angst, violence and the longing for a way out.
The film is scheduled for daily screenings between February 16 - 20, 2011. More information about the 61st International Film Festival in Berlin and a full programme: www.berlinale.de.
Source: pisf.pl