‘PREMIÈRE : THE PAINTED BIRD - Vaclav Marhoul’

Warning:
​​​​​​​This film contains scenes of violence and may not be suited to everyone. The Painted Bird is also a masterpiece, where each image is of exceptional and rare beauty.

The film follows the journey of The Boy, entrusted by his persecuted parents to an elderly foster mother. The old woman soon dies and The Boy is on his own, wandering through the country-side, from village to farmhouse. As he struggles for survival, The Boy suffers through extraordinary brutality meted out by the ignorant, superstitious peasants and he witnesses the terrifying violence of the efficient, ruthless soldiers, both Russian and German. When the war ends, The Boy has been changed, forever.
Based on the acclaimed novel by Jerzy Kosinski. A beautifully filmed black and white evocation of one of the most cruel chapters of Eastern European history at the end of WWII.

​​​​​​​Václav Marhouls is a Czech director, producer, writer and actor. His directorial debut Smart Philip (2003), a parody on the work of hardboiled detective writer Raymond Chandler, became a Czech cult movie. His second movie, Tobruk (2008), was set in the Libyan Desert in WW2 during the siege of Tobruk, and harvested several Czech Lion awards. Marhoul’s latest work, The Painted Bird (2019) has been shortlisted for the Academy Awards 2020.
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