GIEREK. Secrets and mysteries of the house of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party. A film with a groundbreaking Polish history in the background.

Koterski, Kożuchowska, Więdłocha, Frycz, Zawierucha, Stankiewicz, Pawlicki – In the most important production of the year!

The shooting of the film „Gierek” is in progress. The crew is staying in Silesia, and the shooting is carried out in Ustroń, Katowice, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Zawiercie. The crew will return to Warsaw in mid-August. It is one of the biggest cinema productions of this year.

“Edward Gierek is in the collective memory of the Polish people one of the most important figures of the 20th century. Although he stands in line with John Paul II, Józef Piłsudski or Lech Wałęsa, so far the film industry did not seem to notice this. We wanted to fill this gap – says one of the film’s scriptwriters Rafał Woś. When writing the screenplay, we took inspiration from unique sources: the account of a banker who lent money to Eastern Bloc countries, the story of a secretary who observed the Gierek era from inside the state apparatus, and the memoirs of an advisor who helped Gierek change and modernise the Polish economy.”

Producer Heatcliff, Janusz IwanowskiProducer Heatcliff Janusz Iwanowski spent nearly 30 years gathering information to help the screenwriters shape the film’s final story. . He knew Gierek’s secretary personally, with his help the producer managed to organize his knowledge, especially about Gierek’s private life.

The film is set in the years 1970-1982, from the moment Gierek becomes the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR) to the end of his internment. “But it will not be a political film,” assures the producer. “We present Edward Gierek behind the scenes of his power, meaning, what people did not know so far Family relations that never saw the light of day will be an important part of the story, Gierek himself will surprise many viewers and move women to tears”, adds Janusz Iwanowski, producer. What kind of husband and son was Edward Gierek? What relations did he have with his wife, what influence did she have on him, how important was his mother for him – we will find out from an extraordinary story written by three screenwriters: Michał Kalicki, Krzysztof Tyszowiecki and Rafał Woś.

The social layer is also very important in the film, when in the Edward Gierek era … color appeared on the streets. Polish women simply wanted to be fashionable! The style of the Communist era is experiencing a true renaissance today, interior design inspired by this period is back in style and women are eagerly reaching for their grandmothers’ closets. That is why the film is full of details typical of that period, carefully organized by set designer Natalia Maciejewska and costume designerAnna Szaluś. Joanna Szołtysek is responsible for the makeup.

As the story is primarily about a man, not about great politics, the film will not lack humor, anecdotes and satirical portrayal of already iconic figures.

„Gierek” is the third production of Węgrzyn brothers (Michal Węgrzyn – director and Wojciech – cinematographer)in Global Studio. The shooting period was preceded by months of preparation and rehearsals with actors, make-up artists, and the film itself was filmed … by a cell phone. It is a typical way of working for a production cinema, the director and the cinematographer focus only on the quality of work and emotions on the set, and there will be no shortage of those.

“We will not reveal what character the actors will play, we would like to leave that for the viewers. It will be something completely different from what we have seen in the cinema so far,” adds Michał Węgrzyn, the director.

The film’s main characters, Michał Koterski and Małgorzata Kożuchowska, make no secret of the fact that it is one of the biggest professional challenges the actors have had to face. Małgorzata Kożuchowskacomments on the offer to participate in the film as follows: – “I was very happy when I got the proposal to play Stasia Gierkowa. After all, the role of the first lady of the People’s Republic of Poland is quite a treat. When I looked through the archival materials, my doubts arose – it was hard to see any similarity between us… I shared my doubts with the producers and director. They dismissed my concerns: – “In our film story Stasia has your eyes, figure and the temper. There’s a great, almost family-like atmosphere on set, and I’ll admit that I’ve already come to love the 70’s styling and hairstyles. Keep your fingers crossed!”

Michał Koterskiwho put on 17 kilos for the role and did a great deal of homework on the history of that time, also had to learn to speak French. Focused and concentrated on his role, he announced that he would not give interviews until the end of shooting: “It brings bad luck, and I prefer to talk about work – after work!”. The film’s director is convinced: – “He is able to recreate the role so genuinely that we are able to believe this man, to follow him, to find out what was really going on in his life, how difficult decisions he had to make”.

In the film, in addition to the title couple, we will also see: Ewa Ziętek, Jan Frycz, Rafał Zawierucha, Sebastian Stankiewicz, Antoni Pawlicki, Cezary Żak, Agnieszka Więdłocha, Domnika Gwit, Klaudia Halejcio, Krzysztof Tyniec, Maciej Zakościelny, Mikołaj Roznerski, Maurycy Popiel, Piotr Witkowski,Filip Tłokiński, Damian Bajorek, Kamil Bajorek, Aleks Mackiewicz, Konrad Marszałek.

The film is scheduled for release next year, on the 20th anniversary of Edward Gierek’s death.