Pokot

Spoor
Retired civil engineer Duszejko lives a secluded life in a mountain village close to the border between Poland and the Czech Republic. She is charismatic and eccentric, a passionate astrologer and a strict vegetarian. One day her beloved dogs disappear. On a snowy winter’s night shortly afterwards she discovers the dead body of her neighbour and, next to it, deer tracks. More men die in a similarly mysterious way. All of them were pillars of the village community, and all were passionate hunters. Were these men killed by wild animals? Or has someone been provoked to pursue a bloody vendetta? At some point Duszejko herself comes under suspicion ...
After her foray into the realm of serialised drama, Agnieszka Holland returns to the big screen with a subversive thriller. Pokot is set in a landscape of changing seasons; however, the wild beauty of the countryside cannot hide the corrupt nature, cruelty and stupidity of the people who live there. Deeply rooted in the reality of rural Poland, the film is as anarchic as its heroine, and boldly mixes genres – from humorous detective story to exciting eco-thriller to feminist fairy-tale.
by Agnieszka Holland
with Agnieszka Mandat, Wiktor Zborowski, Miroslav Krobot, Jakub Gierszał, Patricia Volny, Borys Szyc
Poland / Germany / Czechia / Sweden / Slovakia 2017 Polish 128’ Colour

With

  • Agnieszka Mandat (Duszejko)
  • Wiktor Zborowski (Matoga)
  • Miroslav Krobot (Boros)
  • Jakub Gierszał (Dyzio)
  • Patricia Volny (Dobra Nowina/Good News)
  • Borys Szyc (Wnętrzak)

Crew

Director Agnieszka Holland
In Cooperation with Kasia Adamik
Screenplay Olga Tokarczuk, Agnieszka Holland adapted from the novel “Der Gesang der Fledermäuse“ by Olga Tokarczuk
Cinematography Jolanta Dylewska, Rafał Paradowski
Stills Photographer Robert Pałka
Editing Pavel Hrdlička
Music Antoni Komasa-Łazarkiewicz
Sound Design Mattias Eklund
Sound Andrzej Lewandowski, Mattias Eklund
Production Design Joanna Macha
Costumes Katarzyna Lewińska
Make-Up Janusz Kaleja
Assistant Director Hubert Koprowicz
Casting Weronika Migoń
Production Manager Andrzej Besztak
Producers Krzysztof Zanussi, Janusz Wąchała
Executive Producer Janusz Wąchała
Co-Producers Johannes Rexin, Pavla Janoušková Kubečková, Tomáš Hrubý, Fredrik Zander, Jakub Viktorin
Co-Production Heimatfilm Köln
Nutprodukce Prag
Chimney Stockholm
Nutprodukcia Bratislava

Produced by

Agnieszka Holland

Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1948, she graduated from the FAMU film school in Prague and began her career assisting Krzysztof Zanussi and Andrzej Wajda. She collaborated with Krzysztof Kieślowski on the screenplay of his Three Colors trilogy. Her film Gorączka screened in Competition at the Berlinale in 1981, the year in which she emigrated to Paris. Since then she has made over 30 films, winning awards including the Golden Globe and a Berlinale Silver Bear, and being nominated for a BAFTA and an Emmy. Her films In Darkness, Europa Europa and Angry Harvest were all nominated for an Academy Award.

Filmography (selection)

1979 Aktorzy prowincjonalni (Provinzschauspieler) · Aktorzy prowincjonalni (Provinzschauspieler) 1981 Gorączka (Fieber) · Gorączka (Fieber) · Kobieta samotna (Eine alleinstehende Frau) · Kobieta samotna (Eine alleinstehende Frau) 1985 Bittere Ernte (Angry Harvest) · Bittere Ernte (Angry Harvest) 1988 To Kill a Priest (Der Priestermord) · To Kill a Priest (Der Priestermord) 1990 Hitlerjunge Salomon (Europa Europa) · Hitlerjunge Salomon (Europa, Europa) 1991 Largo desolato · Largo Desolato 1992 Olivier, Olivier · Olivier, Olivier 1993 The Secret Garden (Der geheime Garten) · The Secret Garden (Der geheime Garten) 1995 Total Eclipse · Total Eclipse 1997 Washington Square · Washington Square 1999 The Third Miracle (Das dritte Wunder) · The Third Miracle (Das dritte Wunder) 2002 Julie Walking Home · Julie Walking Home 2006 Copying Beethoven (Klang der Stille) · Copying Beethoven (Klang der Stille) 2009 Janosik. Prawdziwa historia (Janosik. The Real Story) · Janosik. Prawdziwa Historia (Janosik. The Real Story) 2011 In Darkness · In Darkness 2015 House of Cards; TV series, 2 episodes · House of Cards; TV series, 2 episodes 2017 Pokot (Spoor) · Pokot (Spoor) 2019 Mr. Jones · Mr. Jones 2020 Charlatan

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2020