Set in Warsaw in December 1981, just after martial law is imposed, the story follows Joan Andrews, a British psychiatry professor who arrives for an international conference, unaware of the upheaval. Trapped in a paralyzed city, she is drawn into an unusual spy game.
The screenplay is inspired by Olga Tokarczuk’s 2001 short story “Professor Andrews in Warsaw.” Tokarczuk, a Nobel Prize in Literature and International Booker Prize laureate, is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful authors of her generation in Poland. The script won a special award at Cannes ScripTeast 2018.
Lesley Manville, nominated for an Academy Award for “Phantom Thread,” plays Andrews. The cast also includes Zofia Wichłacz, Andrzej Konopka, Sascha Ley and Tom Burke.
Tomasz Naumiuk served as director of photography, with music by Emre Sevindik. Director Kasia Adamik — who is also a co-writer — worked on the script with Sandra Buchta and Lucinda Coxon. The film was made in Polish and English.
TVP earlier said Agnieszka Holland’s “Franz Kafka” will also premiere in Toronto. Adamik is Holland’s daughter.
The Toronto festival runs September 4–14.
(jh)
Source: PAP