SOBOWTÓR
DOPPELGÄNGER
Performance
Shortly after the end of the war, the real Hans Steiner was abandoned by his mother – whether she fled to Germany or was expelled from Poland is unknown. The secret service takes advantage of this informational void and a false son returns. "Hans Steiner", a fluent German speaker, integrates rapidly, becomes part of the family, and manages to make a successful career. What no one knows however, is that together with a network of intermediaries, he has been tasked with tracking down secret files that would compromise the Polish opposition. At the same time, the real son leads an unspectacular existence in Gdańsk, that is until he makes a highly dangerous mistake: He begins searching for his mother, thereby jeopardising the secret service operation. A spiral of deception, exposure, and manipulation is set in motion.
The role of the shady secret agent is tailor-made for polyglot Jakub Gierszał. Together with him, we make our way through the classic repertoire of the secret service crime thriller, as well as through several decades of history on both sides of the Iron Curtain. In large part, the subject matter derives its explosiveness from the fact that much of this seemingly absurd story actually happened. The film-maker and niece of the real son, Rosalia Romaniec, revisited the case in the form of a documentary in IM NAMEN DES SOHNES, which is also to screen at this year’s Film Festival Cottbus.
Text: Rainer Mende
Sat 08.11. I 10:30 I OBENKINO I original version with German subtitles
Talk: A biographical spy story – reality and fiction
Obenkino, Sat 08.11. | 14:30
Andrzej Golda, Jan Holoubek
Bartlomiej Kaczmarek
Maciej Fajst, Marek Warszewski
Jan Komar
Jakub Gierszał, Tomasz Schuchardt, Andrzej Seweryn, Wiktoria Gorodeckaja, Katarzyna Herman, Emily Kusche, Nathalie Richard, Joachim Raaf, Jessica McIntyre
Karolina Lachowska
Jan Holoubek - Late 70’ child, born in Warsaw, who after graduation in the Cinematography Department of Lodz Film School was carefully cared for, as he mastered his eyes under Edward Klosinski and Witold Sobocinski mastership. Since 2004, he has been working independently as a cinematographer in the production of feature films, television and advertising. He worked on the set of films with Juliusz Machulski, Krzysztof Zanussi, Jerzy Stuhr or Krystyna Janda. In 2007, he made his directorial debut with the documentary "The Sun and the Shadow", which was awarded at many festivals. In 2014, he made the mockumentary "Postcards from the Republic of Absurd".
He is an author of the famous crime drama series "The Mire", written together with Kasper Bajon, which had its continuation - "The Mire '97". The second season is nominated for the Polish Film Award in the category best drama series.
His debut feature film "25 Years of innocence" (TVN Discovery Group) was very well received both by critics and the audience. The picture was appreciated at many film festivals and honoured with numerous awards in the country and abroad, such as award for directing debut at the 45th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, for the best director and discovery of the year at Polish Film Awards, best director's debut award and Special Mention in the Polish Films Competition at the Camerimage Festival, five statuettes at the Koszalin Festival of Film Debuts "Młodzi i Film". The film received awards at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn and at the Nuovo Cinema Europa Festival in Genoa. Another international success of Janek's debut came in 2022 - the film received the most important award at the festival Cinémas d'Europe sans Frontières in Strasbourg - Europe Without Borders Prize: "We wanted to honour a film that reminded us of the fragility of the most humanistic values, the fundamental principles of functioning. The film calls for moral balance and opposition to violence". Jan's debut also won the Janusz "Kuba" Morgenstern’s "Perspektywa" prize. The film was released as a TV series, directed by Jan Holoubek.
His latest production is Polish drama series “High Water” - Inspired by the true events of the fateful time in 1997 when a part of Poland and other central European countries were massively flooded. Within two weeks tv series has reached number one globally among non-English productions on Netflix and becoming international success gaining enthusiastic critic’s reviews.
Since 2011 member of Polish Society of Cinematographers (PSC).
2021 \25 YEARS OF INNOCENCE is his feature directorial debut
2022\High Water - TV series
2007 \Słońce i cień (Sunlight and Shadow) – documentary
2014 \Pocztówki z Republiki Absurdu (Vykort från absurditetens republik) – mockument
2018 \Rojst – TV series
2018 \Odwróceni (Insiders) – TV series, ep. 5–8
