A feature film and TV series based on the story of ORP Orzeł will be made

Hel will soon become a film set, where a large part of the scenes for a feature film and TV series about the fate of the legendary Polish World War II submarine ORP Orzeł will be shot.

According to the announcements, the production telling the story of the fate of the heroic crew ORP Orzeł is to be produced on a grand scale. What is important, the plot is to be much closer to historical truth than Leonard Buczkowski’s film from 1958.

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We saw, among other things, selected military facilities on the Hel Peninsula and in Gdynia, shipyards, museums. We were also on board of the historic ORP Błyskawica destroyer. This is another such visit. The previous reconnaissance took place about a year ago. – – enumerates Cdr Lt. Piotr Adamczak from the Marine Operations Centre, who accompanied the filmmakers

Implementation

The basing point ships in Hel will play a triple role. It will play the Scottish base at Rosyth and the pre-war ports at Gdynia and Tallinn. The Naval Shipyard, in turn, will be transformed into the Dutch Vlissingen, where the and the “Eagle” was launched. In addition, a floating model of the surface part of the submarine will be created for the film!

In Gdynia, for example, we saw the old slipway where the launching scene can be played out. Of course we also intend to shoot in Vlissingen. The town’s buildings make it relatively easy to recreate the pre-war atmosphere, except that the old port no longer exists – explains Grabowski

The film about the fate of ORP Orzeł will be directed by Jan Kidawa Błoński. The director has already produced such films as “Różyczka” and “Skazany na bluesa”.

After reading the script, I can say that it is very interesting indeed. Earlier we had a film about ORP Orzeł directed by Leonard Buczkowski. It was very good in terms of production and acting. However, in my opinion, it was far from the historical truth in many places. The new picture will be closer to the facts, though of course it will not lose anything of the qualities of a fictional story. – emphasises Jan Tarczyński, director of the Central Military Library, who is the historical consultant for the production

One of the key issues that the makers of the film about the Polish submarine will focus on will be conveying the atmosphere on board among the crew.

Imagine a few dozen men confined in a small space and information flowing to them: Warsaw fell, Hel fell. And yet every one of them had family in the country. I’ve lived in London for years and had the opportunity to talk to members of the ORP Orzeł crew who survived because they didn’t make the last voyage. As one of them recalled, at one point the tension on board was so great that even a spoon falling to the floor made your hair stand on end. I think we will be able to evoke this atmosphere in the new film – says Tarczyński

Shooting for the film is expected to begin in the first half of 2016.