The Polish-Swedish co-produced movie “The Big Leap” directed by Kristoffer Rus started shooting at ATM Studio on April 15. A black comedy about the dilemmas posed by the financial crisis, “The Big Leap” is the first such technologically advanced production in Poland. The cast will be headlined by international stars Tilly Scott Pedersen (Dagur Kari’s “Dark Horse”), Gustaf Skarsgård (Peter Weir’s “The Way Back”) and Arkadiusz Jakubik (Wojtek Smarzowski’s “The Dark House”).
“The Big Leap” is the story of three people hit by the financial crisis who meet on top of a skyscraper to commit suicide. It quickly becomes apparent that each of them has different ideas about life and death: Sarah is a believer, John an atheist, and Ben an agnostic. Financial crisis becomes spiritual crisis. The only way to find out who is right is to take the Big Leap.
The movie was born out of the question “Does God exist?”. “It’s impossible to answer this question”, says director Kristoffer Rus. “Yet I firmly believe that one of the most important tasks in life is to address it. The movie is my quest to answer this question in the form of absurd comedy with brilliant acting and comic dialogues. It’s punchy and off the wall, and all this in a short film!”
A ferocious black comedy, “The Big Leap” will also be a visually breathtaking tour-de-force. It is being developed in CGI (computer generated imagery). The actors and sets will be surrounded by a city created through special effects, shot with stunning camera movements. It is the first such technologically advanced project in Poland. ATM FX is the provider of special effects. “It’s definitely the biggest challenge we’ve ever faced. The vast array of computer effects and ambitious and daring visuals is only a means to tell a story, not an end in itself”, says Filip Kaczorek, visual effects supervisor at ATM FX.
Kristoffer Rus is a Swedish director with Polish roots, a graduate of the Stockholm Film School and the Wajda School. His short films have been recognized at international film festivals. One of them, “Apple Tree” (2003), has been screened at Cannes, Marrakech and Palm Springs. His short feature “Street Feeling” (2009) was shot in Poland. Rus is the head director of Weekend Film Magazine, a TV show airing on TVP1. He is currently working on his feature debut, “The Profane’s Massacre”, adapted from the book by Jarosław Stawirej.
“The Big Leap” is produced by Prasa i Film (“All That I Love”) in association with East of West Cinema AB, Sweden (“Nina’s Journey”), TVP S.A., ATM FX and WFDiF (“Rose”). It is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute and the Swedish Film Institute. The film’s sales are handled by New Europe Film Sales. Wajda Studio is responsible for public relations. Renata Czarnkowska-Listoś is the leading producer.
More: http://www.facebook.com/bigleapmovie; http://www.bigleapthemovie.com.
