On January 21 the premiere of Skarb (Treasure) movie, attended by the Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk was held in the Apollo cinema in Wałbrzych. Production of the movie was possible thanks to, among others, a grant received from the PAFF program “Act Locally” managed by the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland.
The film adaptation of play Skarb written in 1999 by Olga Tokarczuk as her debut as a playwriter, was produced by a group of an amateur group of Teatr Lokomotywa (Locomotive Theater) of Świdnik. The film was directed by Andrzej Łagoda, the founder of Teatr Lokomotywa. As he told the Radio Wrocław, initially Skarb was to be a theater performance, however the Covid pandemic restrictions spoiled their plans and therefore they decided to make a film.
Teatr Lokomotywa had already had some experience with the Nobel Prize winner’s work because in 2020 they had put on the Żurek (Sour Soup) play based on a novel by Olga Tokarczuk. The performance was made by the amateur group of actors of Świdnik, thanks to, among others also the support from the “Act Locally” program.
The Skarb premiere in Wałbrzych was attended by Olga Toakrczuk, who assessed very high the adaptation of her play. The guests of the event were also representatives of Stowarzyszenie Granica (Frontier Association) of Lubawka, volunteers engaged in the production of the film as well as partners of the initiative and Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland, the Manager of the “Act Locally” program.
Paweł Łukasiak, President of the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland: “Congratulations for the filmmakers of Skarb, that wonderful full-length movie. Works by Olga Tokarczuk are to a big extent based on local ground – on local stories, heroes seen and presented from the Author’s perspective, with her extraordinary sensitivity. Film director, and at the same time leader of a local organization Andrzej Łagoda consequently follows that line. In many local communities there are rumors, stories are told about allegedly hidden treasure. A mirage of finding that treasure makes people dream and act. Of course the faith in success, persistence and imagination are needed. The filmmakers and actors of Skarb had such great faith and imagination. As it rarely happens that a full-length film is made by a group of volunteers and amateur actors.”
The authors of the screenplay are Andrzej and Michał Łagoda, who transferred the action taking place in the 1960’s into modern times. The group of passionate people of Teatr Lokomotywa received PLN 6,000 for its project under the Act Locally 2021 competition held by the Stowarzyszenie Granica of Lubawka.
Making of the film was also possible thanks to support from donors such as Marciszów commune or Edyta and Aloiz Gillmaier.
The “Act Locally” program is an undertaking of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation managed by the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland in cooperation with a network of Act Locally Centers. It supports and activates local communities in rural areas and small towns helping to implement civic projects that are important for local communities, serve stimulating developmental aspirations and improvement of life quality and contribute to building social capital. Since 2000, the support has been received by almost 14,200 local projects implemented by a total of over 4.8 million participants, including ca. 235,000 volunteers.
Photo courtesy of Artur Kubieniec – www.relacjeregionalne.pl
