22/07/2010

Wiktor Skrzynecki has just started shooting in a Poznań high school on Felix, Net & Nika, adapted from Rafał Kosik’s eponymous novel which was named Book of the Year 2005 by the Polish section of IBBY - International Board on Books for Young people. The new feature by the director of Without Sin presents itself as a title aimed mainly at teenagers, but also contains elements of suspense.

The novel by Kosik (who has written the film’s screenplay) centres on some pupils in a Warsaw high school who are involved in a series of extraordinary events: an encounter with a huge carnivorous plant, the unintentional activation of a strange machine and a journey in a flying sailboat. Before going home, they have to solve a difficult mystery, but their task is made more complicated by the fact they are followed by some dark creatures.

Young discoverer Felix is played by Kamil Klier (Ladies), magic-powered Nika by newcomer Klaudia Łepkowska and computer-genius Net by Maciej Stolarczyk (Magic Tree).

The film’s special effects look set to equal those of mega-productions like Harry Potter and Spider Man. Shooting will take place in Poland, then London, with lensing by DoP Grzegorz Kędzierski.

Produced by Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Felix, Net & Nika is co-produced by Media Group and Lightcraft (who also handled special effects for Janusz Majewski’s The Rite of Passage, which recently won an award at the Gdynia Film Festival). The film is expected to be released theatrically in autumn 2011 by Syrena.