Trailer drops for Katyn massacre drama Gorky Resort
The creators of the drama Gorky Resort: The Duel, which is set in 1939, have released a trailer (Photo: FILM.UA)
A trailer has been released for Gorky Resort: The Duel, a Polish-Ukrainian-Irish co-production about resistance to totalitarian rule, set for wide theatrical release on Sept. 10.
The film is based on real events and depicts the Katyn massacre. Set in 1939, after the Soviet invasion of Poland, the story follows Soviet forces who captured members of the Polish intelligentsia in what is now Ukrainian territory and held them in a former sanatorium hastily converted into a prisoner-of-war camp. Hoping to win the prisoners over, the occupying forces attempt various methods to force them into collaboration. At the center of the film is a prolonged psychological duel between a Polish pianist and an NKVD secret police agent trying to break his will in order to influence the other prisoners.
The pianist, Karol Grabowski, is played by acclaimed Polish actor Jakub Gierszał, while his adversary is played by Irish actor Aidan Gillen, known for his role as Petyr Baelish in Game of Thrones. The film is directed by Łukasz Palkowski, who also directed one of Poland's highest-grossing films, Gods.
Ukrainian cast members include Viktor Zhdanov, Hryhorii Horobchuk, Daria Polunina, and Artem Manuilov. Ukrainian costume designer Hala Otenko designed the film's costumes, and Serhii Lavreniuk served as the Ukrainian producer.
"The film's events take place on territory that at the time belonged to Poland but is now part of Ukraine, and which, under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, was ceded to the USSR and later Russia [Smolensk Oblast]," Lavreniuk said.
“This is an important chapter in the shared history of Ukraine and Poland, and some aspects of it are now being targeted by our shared enemy's information war — an enemy we fought then, during World War II, and continue to fight now. This film is especially important today, as we work together to overcome Russian aggression and prevent it from spreading further.”
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