“Aftermath” controversial Polish WWII drama screens in U.S., Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - The controversial Polish drama Aftermath has secured distribution in Russia and the United States, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Directed by Wladyslaw Pasikowski, Poklosie (Aftermath) was co-produced by Poland, Russia and the Netherlands. The movie stirred some controversy due to its treatment of events from WWII.

Focused on two brothers who unearth the truth about a Jewish pogrom in their village during WWII, the movie offers a less conventional view of the Holocaust. Having learned dark secrets of their community's past, the main characters are facing a dilemma of whether they should sacrifice the truth for the sake of family and national pride.

Aftermath is to open in Russia on Dec. 5, distributed by the independent distributor Arena, becoming one of the few Polish movies released here. Earlier this month, the film opened in the United States, distributed by the independent company Menemsha Films.

The movie, produced by Apple Film Production in collaboration with Topkapi Films, Metra Films, Attack Film, Trigon Production, Telewizja Polska and Canal+, collected the Journalist Prize at the Gdynia Film Festival and seven nominations for the Polish Eagles, the country’s main national film award. It eventually picked up two Eagles, for best male performance by Jerzy Stuhr and best set design for Allan Starski. In Poland, it received over 300,000 admissions.