The film is produced in the painting animation technique which was first applied in the same directorial team’s highly-acclaimed ‘Loving Vincent’.
The story of The Peasants is based on Władysław Reymont’s Nobel Prize-winning novel of the same title, which was written in four volumes between 1904 and 1909 and translated into 27 languages.
According to the film’s publicity materials, the story’s main protagonist Jagna is “a young woman determined to forge her own path within the confines of a late 19th-century Polish village - a hotbed of gossip and on-going feuds, held together, rich and poor, by pride in their land, adherence to colourful traditions and a deep-rooted patriarchy. When Jagna finds herself caught between the conflicting desires of the village’s richest farmer, his eldest son and other leading men of the community, her resistance puts her on a tragic collision course with the community around her”.
The Peasants had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month. Last week, it won an Audience Award at the National Film Festival in Gdynia. It is to go on general release in Poland on October 13. According to New Europe Film Sales, the film’s distribution rights have already been sold to over 50 countries.
Reymont’s novel has twice been made into a feature film, in 1922 and 1972. The 1972 version was also made into a highly popular television series. (mk/pm)