GENERAL GUIDE THE DEBT GENERAL GUIDE EUROPEAN FILMS FOR INNOVATIVE AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "GENERAL GUIDE THE DEBT GENERAL GUIDE EUROPEAN FILMS FOR INNOVATIVE AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT"

Felicity Dalton
6 years ago
Views:

1 EU FO RIA THE DEBT EUROPEAN FILMS FOR INNOVATIVE AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT 1

2 THE DEBT ORIGINAL TITLE: Dług DIRECTOR: Krzysztof Krauze SCRIPT: The original original script was written by Krzysztof Krauze (the director of the film) and Jerzy Morawski MUSIC: Michał Urbaniak ART DIRECTION: Bartosz Prokopowicz DURATION: 97 RELEASE DATE: 1999 COUNTRY: Poland CAST: Andrzej Chyra as Gerard Nowak Robert Gonera as Adam Borecki Jacek Borcuch as Stefan Kowalczyk Cezary Kosiński as Tadeusz Frei Joanna Szurmiej-Rzączyńska as Basia, Adam s fiancée Agnieszka Warcholska as Jola, Stefan s girlfriend FESTIVAL / AWARDS: 1999, Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdynia Golden Lions Best Actor Award for Andrzej Chyra Best Score Award for Michał Urbaniak Best Film Award for Krzysztof Krauze Best Film Producer Award for Juliusz Machulski 2000, Polish Film Academy The Eagle Award Best Film Award for Krzysztof Krauze Best Actor Award for Robert Gonera Best Supporting Actor Award for Andrzej Chyra Best Director Award for Krzysztof Krauze Best Screenplay Award for Jerzy Morawski and Krzysztof Krauze 2001, Philadelphia (International Film Festival) Best Director Award for Krzysztof Krauze COLOR: Color 2

3 SYNOPSIS The film tells a story of two young businessmen blackmailed by a gangster. After many beatings, up to their ears in debts contracted to pay the protection money, suffering from a nervous breakdown, without even the slightest hope of getting any kind of help from the police, the victims take matters in their own hands and commit a crime on their torturers. The film, as has been later revealed, is very loosely based on a real story of a gangster s victims Artur Bryliński and Sławomir Sikora. pl.wikipedia.org 3

4 Krzysztof Krauze THE DIRECTOR Film director and screenwriter. Born in 1953 in Warsaw. Died on December 24, He graduated from the Faculty of Cinematography of the Film School in Łódź, but from the very beginning considered a career of a director. In the period he cooperated with the SE-MA-FOR Short Format Film Studio in Łódź. At the beginning of the eighties of the previous century he decided to emigrate, but, having failed to get recognition in his profession abroad, he returned to his home country. From 1983 to 1985 he cooperated with the Karol Irzykowski Studio and then, from 1995, with the Tor Team. At the beginning of the nineties he made advertisements. He was also for some time a member of the Programme Council of the Andrzej Munk Television Debut Studio and the Artistic Council of the Karol Irzykowski Studio. In 2001 Krzysztof Krauze became a member of the European Film Academy and in 2007 a member of the Management Board of the Polish Filmmakers Association. In 2008 he was appointed the President of the Board of the Polish Film Institute. culture.pl/ 4

FILMOGRAPHY FILMOGRAPHY 1988 - Nowy Jork - czwarta rano (New York, 4 a.m.

5 FILMOGRAPHY FILMOGRAPHY Nowy Jork - czwarta rano (New York, 4 a.m.) Gry uliczne (Street Games) The Debt (Polish: Dług) Wielkie rzeczy (Great Things) My Nikifor (Polish: Mój Nikifor) Plac Zbawiciela (Saviour Square) 2013 Papusza 2016 Ptaki śpiewają w Kigali (Birds Sing in Kigali, posthumously) 5

6 Recollections of the authors Krzysztof Krauze described The Debt in the following words: The film, despite belonging to the thriller genre, is, in fact, a reflection on the nature of crime. It shows what fear can do with ordinary men. The characters world becomes limited to only one thing the unspoken threat. Their hierarchy of values is reduced to a simple choice: victory or defeat. However, apart from its dark aspects, the message of The Debt is not entirely negative. It also tells about love that helps the main character find his moral compass again. The Debt does not offer an unambiguous answer to the question at which point the characters made a mistake. It only shows moments when they lacked the willpower and gave in to their weakness and hysteria. It show the price one pays for that. As the film is a story about ordinary men, it seems to ask the viewer: what would YOU do in such a situation? I think that in times when the Christian Decalogue becomes for young people a set of empty platitudes, such a reflection is very needed. (...) The question about the origins of evil is answered by the director (Krauze) himself in a feature article: We want to be free, only to become slaves of our own desires. And the thing about desires is that they cannot be fulfilled. He also adds that fear arises when our plans and dreams are threatened. Modern media that promote the consumerist lifestyle and happiness as a result of possession have an enormous share in multiplying our desires. Thus, as a consequence, they also have a share in violence. (Tygodnik Powszechny, issue 11/2002) culture.pl Director and his actors Andrzej Chyra The Debt was a real turning point in my career, as I started making a living as an actor and thus gave up my other occupations. I remember that period as an attempt do something which made sense. In those times this was all one could aspire to, Andrzej Chyra admits. He also adds that almost all actors playing in the film where at the time young and full of enthusiasm, while the director Krzysztof Krauze wanted to prove to his critics that he was also able to make a film that was not overly optimistic. A. Chyra about his part in The Debt 6

7 EU FO RIA This guide was made for nonprofit educational purposes only. All copyrights of images and texts belong to their respective original owners and are used under "fair use" for this non-commercial educational initiative. EUROPEAN FILMS FOR INNOVATIVE AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT 7

in SCREENWRITING MASTER OF ARTS One-Year Accelerated LOCATION LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

in SCREENWRITING MASTER OF ARTS One-Year Accelerated LOCATION LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA One-Year Accelerated MASTER OF ARTS in SCREENWRITING LOCATION LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Location is subject to change. For start dates and tuition, please visit nyfa.edu 102 103 MA Screenwriting OVERVIEW