Kler

Poland

Synopsis

Many years ago, the lives of three Catholic priests were joined by tragic events. Now, on every anniversary of the catastrophe they endured, the three meet in order to celebrate the fact of their survival. Their everyday lives are very different. Lisowski is a big-city curia employee, making a spectacular career with one eye on a lucrative Vatican position. His problem is that his ambitions are being thwarted by Archbishop Mordowicz, a luxury-steeped church big shot, freely using his political clout to build Poland’s largest new sanctuary. The second priest, Trybus, is a countryside rector. Fulfilling his calling in a place of dire poverty, he becomes more and more prone to human failings. And things don’t look any brighter to Father Kukuła who — despite his passionate faith — keeps losing his parish’s trust practically on a daily basis. Once a young altar boy in Kukuła’s parish falls victim to sexual abuse, the events accelerate at a frightening pace and push all characters to the very limit. Not before long, the stories of the three priests re-unite once again, and the events taking place will affect the lives of everyone involved.

Director's Biography

Director, screenwriter & producer Wojciech Smarzowski grew up in Jedlicze where he attended primary school and high school. Even then, he was interested in photography. He graduated from the cinematography department at the PWSFTviT in Łódź and studied Film at the Jagiellonian University. Initially, he made documentary films, commercials and music videos. He was also the screenwriter of the film SEZON NA LESZCZA (2000) by Bogusław Linda. In 2004 he became the laureate of the Paszport Polityki award.
 | 

Cast & Crew

Directed by: Wojtek Smarzowski

Written by: Wojtek Smarzowski, Wojciech Rzehak

Produced by: Jacek Rzehak

Cinematography: Tomasz Madejski

Editing: Paweł Laskowski

Production Design: Jagna Janicka

Costume Design: Magdalena Rutkiewicz-Luterek

Make-Up & Hair: Ewa Drobiec

Original Score: Mikołaj Trzaska

Sound: Radoslaw Ochnio

Visual Effects: Lukasz Urbanowski, Pawel Tybora, Janusz Bykowski

Cast: Arkadiusz Jakubik (Kukuła), Robert Wieckiewicz (Trybus), Jacek Braciak (Lisowski), Janusz Gajos (Archbishop Mordowicz), Joanna Kulig (Hanka)

Nominations and Awards

  • Feature Film Selection 2019