LETNIE PRZESILENIE / SUMMER SOLSTICE

2014, Colour, Germany, Poland, World Competition 

Production Team

Director : Michal Rogalski

Screenwriter : Michal Rogalski

Cinematographer : Jerzy Zieli?ski

Editor : Joanna Brühl, Milenia Fiedler

Cast : Filip Piotrowicz, Jonas Nay, Urszula Bogucka, Maria Semotiuk, Steffen Scheuman, Gerdy Zint, Bart?omiej Topa, Agnieszka Krukówna

Music : Rainer Oleak

Film production and Sales : Prod.: Maciej Strzembosz, Ewa Borgu?ska, René Frotscher, Eva-Marie Martens, Prasa & Film Ltd., Chemska 21, build. 4, suite 53 00-724 Varsolvie (Pologne), office@pifpartners.pl / Sunday Filmproduktion and Mafilm Gmbh (Allemagne).

Synopsis

1943. Polish countryside. Germany has begun sending younger and younger recruits to war. That is how Guido, a sensitive 17-year-old, finds himself in Poland. While serving near a small village, he tries to escape the brutality of the war in the attic of the post where he listens to forbidden jazz records and dreams of better times. Meanwhile, Romek, a local Polish boy, tries to help his single mother by working as a railway engineer’s assistant and win the heart of Franka, the daughter of the well-to-do farmer. While helping drive the locomotive, Romek makes regular stops at an abandoned train station where German trains to death camps dispose of suitcases and other personal items of the Jewish victims. Unaware of the scope of the tragedy they represent, the items make little impression on Romek. When he salvages a discarded grammophone, fate brings him, Franka and Guido together. That one moment will change each of their lives forever. Then Romek meets Bunia, a Jewish girl who has managed to escape one of the death trains and he becomes her only hope for survival. The unlikely connection of these four leads to a series of tragedies. Who will survive is not entirely in their hands. 

Director

Born in Warsaw in 1970, Polish filmmaker Michal Rogalski graduated from Warsaw University’s School of Journalism and Political Science and the Lodz Film School. He began directing short fiction and documentaries in the 1990s before making his fiction feature debut in 2009 with THE LAST ACTION. His directing credits include numerous episodes of one of Polish television’s most popular series, Time of Honour (2011-2013). His medium-length credits include Kozietulskiego 6 (2004), 12 Tons (2008), Pawel and Ewa (2002), Silesian Strips (2006) and Where Did 80 Million Go? (2011). 

 

Watch the Trailer

Projections

Wednesday September 2, 2015 - 09:30 AM - CINÉMA IMPÉRIAL
Wednesday September 2, 2015 - 04:30 PM - CINÉMA IMPÉRIAL