A gorgeous new feature film project straddling the worlds of fine art, film, literature and animation has been glimpsed for the first time, as first-look images and trailer for Oscar-nominated Loving Vincent director Dorota Kobiela’s The Peasants have hit the web. The film is due for release in 2022.
Based on the novel Chłopi by Nobel Prize-winning Polish author Władysław Reymont, the movie uses painted animation inspired by the works of the “Young Poland” art movement (1890-1918) to immerse audiences in the everyday dramas of a rural Polish village at the dawn of the 20th century. The book was originally published in four parts, each representing a “season” in the lives of its peasant characters, between 1904 and 1909.
The movie’s story will center on the tragic character of Jagna, a 19-year-old woman being voiced by Kamila Urzędowska — a recent drama school graduate described by one Polish film website as the “Polish Margot Robbie.”
“After years of working on a film about Vincent van Gogh, I felt a strong need to talk about women: their struggle, passion and strength,” said Kobiela.
Despite the sometimes bleak reality of The Peasants, the new trailer and artwork shows that the novel’s groundbreaking authenticity is reflected in a richly colorful experience of folk customs and rolling countryside, on par with the swirling expressionism of Loving Vincent, which was based on Van Gogh’s work.
Released in 2017, Loving Vincent earned Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for Best Animated Feature, three Annie Award nominations (Feature – Independent, Achievement in Music, Achievement in Writing), and won numerous accolades including the Annecy Audience Awards, European Film Award for Animated Feature and two Polish Film Awards (Production Design and Editing) — alongside a nomination for Best Film.
[Source: The First News]
