23/06/2008

Katarzyna Roslaniec – a young director and graduate of Gdansk University and Warsaw Film School – is currently shooting her debut feature, Galerianki (neologism referring to “girls who live in shopping centres”), a social drama which looks at teenage prostitution.

The film develops a subject explored by the director in her graduate film short, which won honours at the latest Gdynia Polish Film Festival (Special Jury Prize) and the sixth Warsaw Short Film Festival (Grand Prize).

Galerianki – written by Roslaniec as part of the workshop programme organised by the SFP (Association of Polish filmmakers) – centres on young 14-year-old schoolgirls who are looking for "sponsors", i.e. men who buy them presents in exchange for sexual favours.

This subject caught the attention of Wlodzimierz Niderhaus, director of the Warsaw-based production studio WFDiF (Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych), who are producing the film. Galerianki has a budget of €670,000, including a €5,700 film development grant and €286,000 in production funding from the Polish Film Institute (PISF).

The cast includes Ania Kaczmarczyk, Dagmara Krasowska, Dominika Gwit, Magda Ciurzynska, Iza Kuna and Artur Barcis.

The film is lensed by Witold Stok and Robert Glinski is acting as artistic consultant on the production. Shooting is scheduled to wrap at the end of June.

(Translated from French)