‘Under the Volcano’ Director Damian Kocur Takes on Contemporary Poland, Stereotypes and Historical Trauma in ‘La Manche’ as Oma Inge Film and Les Contes Modernes Come on Board (EXCLUSIVE)

Presented at the Venice Production Bridge and produced by Kijora Film, the film will be co-produced by Germany’s Oma Inge Film and France’s Les Contes Modernes. 

Kocur is behind Venice premiere “Bread and Salt” and “Under the Volcano,” selected as the Polish Oscar submission in 2024.  

“This project is not a genre film or a social commentary. I think it will be a film about contemporary Poland, about the exploitation of stereotypes and historical trauma,” Kocur told Variety. 

He will show a Poland that’s both “comedic and dramatic.” 

His protagonist, a young Warsaw resident, receives an offer to work on a foreign film set to be shot in Poland. His task is to find suitable locations and nonprofessional actors, so he embarks on a journey across the country.

The film will also address the controversial subject of the Poland-Belarus border crisis, famously depicted in Agnieszka Holland’s “Green Border.” Kocur also experienced problems when developing the project.

“It remains the dominant and most important element of the film, but at this point, it can only be discussed from a post-traumatic perspective,” he stated. 

“Interventional cinema, which has the potential to influence people’s and politicians’ views, only makes sense when it’s timely. In this respect, Agnieszka Holland’s film has exhausted the subject.”

Despite its focus on Poland, the project interested international collaborators because of Kocur’s previous work – “‘Under the Volcano’ was screened at over 100 festivals worldwide,” noted producer Marta Szymanowska – but also because of its subject matter. 

“Though deeply local – as the story takes place in small towns and villages along the Polish-Belarusian border – it opens the door to a deeper look at places on the eastern fringes of Europe,” she added. Szymanowska produces the film for Kijora Film alongside Anna Gawlita, who added: “The film will criticize the ‘city dweller’s’ perspective on the countryside, as well as the West’s view of the East. Ultimately, we won’t be able to avoid examining the internal polarization of our societies. In this film, Damian remains true to his method of working with non-professional actors, which allows us to get closer to reality.”

“His approach to casting is more about meeting people than testing their acting abilities.”

They are convinced that “La Manche” will be an important film. 

“He challenges the stereotypical perception of Poland as a ‘land of trauma,’ a country still associated with the Second World War and the Holocaust. He also revisits the topic of migration in a less obvious way, by linking it to a historical perspective,” said Szymanowska. 

According to Gawlita, Kocur also addresses the “harsh realities of contemporary precariousness, which particularly affects those entering the job market.”