Poland selects Corpus Christi as Oscar candidate
Polish film director Jan Komasa's latest film, Corpus Christi, has been selected as Poland’s official entry for the US Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category, the Poland's Oscar Committee said on Friday.
Corpus Christi is a universal, moving and provocative story about the spiritual transformation of man, a new look at faith in God. This is a mature, wise film created by a young artist, the Oscar committee said in a statement.
Poland’s Oscar Committee members include Ewa Puszczynska (Oscar-winning producer), Radosław Smigulski (general director of the Polish Film Institute - PISF), Lukasz Zal (Oscar-nominated cinematographer), Mariusz Lukomski (distributor), Jan A.P. Kaczmarek (Oscar-winning composer), Anna Zamecka (director of the documentary feature Communion, shortlisted for the Oscars last year) and Małgorzata Szczepkowska-Kalemba (head of film production and film project development at PISF).
The announcement came just several days after the film's world premiere, on September 2, and triumph at the 76th Venice Film Festival where the Polish production received the Europa Cinemas Label award during the festival’s Giornate degli Autori, or Venice Days, section last week. The jury said at the time that the Polish film "clearly presents the conflict between good and evil in today's society."
The film's North American premiere was held at this year's 44th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which opened on September 5.
Komasa's film, inspired by real-life events, is the story of a 20-year-old Daniel (played by Bartosz Bielenia) who, after leaving a correctional facility, decides to impersonate a priest.
In Poland, 'Corpus Christi' has qualified for competition at this year's 44th Polish Film Festival in the Baltic city of Gdynia (September 16-21). The movie will have a nationwide cinema release on October 11.
The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hand out the Oscar awards on February 9. (PAP)
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