The series blends a large-scale disaster recreation with a courtroom narrative focused on families’ fight for truth and dignity.
Special screenings in Szczecin and Gdynia preceded the launch, with the creators and cast meeting audiences in the region most closely tied to the tragedy.
The disaster killed 36 passengers and 20 crew; nine people survived. While based on real events, the story is a fictionalized account built from research.
Netflix cites an uncommon production scale: 105 shooting days, more than 120 actors, 3,000 extras, 70 locations and extensive water work and CGI.
The drama, set amid the state’s post-communist unraveling, follows widows contesting efforts to pin blame on captain Andrzej Ułasiewicz. Borys Szyc, who plays the captain, called the project “one of the most demanding” of his career.
“Heweliusz” was created by director Jan Holoubek, writer Kasper Bajon and producer Anna Kępińska, the team behind the Polish hit “Wielka woda” (“High Water”).
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Source: PAP, Dziennik