July 28, 2023
Much awaited animated feature “The Peasants”, produced by Ivan Pribićević and Jelena Angelovski, is having a world premiere in the Special Presentations Program of the 48th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), taking place September 7th-17th.
Directors Dorota Kobiela Welchman and Hugh Welchman together with supervisors Biserka Petrović and Vladimir Vinkić, lead 22 talented Serbian painters through a process crowned by work of Digitalkraft’s experienced VFX crew. This exciting project of great artistic value, comes as a co-production of BreakThru Productions (Poland), Art Shot (Lithuania) and Digitalkraft (Serbia).
The plot is based on the novel of Nobel Prize winner – Wladyslaw Reymont. It brings the tragic story about a peasant girl, Jagna, forced to marry a much older, rich farmer, Borina, despite her love for his son Antek. Over time, Yagna becomes the object of envy and hatred of the villagers and must fight to preserve her independence. Polish countryside in the turn of the 20th century is a perfect set for dramatic twists and turns of the story followed by colorful season changes, hard work in the fields and traditional local holidays.
This unique microcosm of the village community serves as an occasion to tell a universal story about tragic love and life in a small community where rules and traditions determine everyone’s roles while going beyond others’ expectations can result in shame and rejection.
Welchmans’ previous film, “Loving Vincent”, was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and BAFTA, earning $42 million at the box office. Film “Peasants” was made using the same painting technique, which has already stole the hearts of fans around the world.
Watch the first trailer HERE.