Film Fund: Copernicus – The Unknown Faces Receives Our Support and Features a Star-Studded Cast
A docudrama about Toruń’s most famous native, Nicolaus Copernicus, is being produced by the Film Institute of the Unisław Historical Society. The project is supported by the Kujawy Pomorze Film Fund.
For many years, the Unisław Historical Society has researched and promoted the history of the Chełmno Land, Unisław and the surrounding region. It publishes the periodical Unisław Historical Notebooks, organizes conferences, produces books and multimedia publications, and actively engages the local community. The Society also operates the Film Institute, which specializes in documentary films devoted to historical events, particularly those related to the Second World War in the Kujawy and Pomorze regions. Among its productions are the acclaimed documentaries Barbarka 1939 (2022) and Children of Szmalcówka (2025).
Having explored wartime history, the filmmakers from Unisław have now turned to a much earlier period to create a docudrama about Nicolaus Copernicus. The production is supported by the Kujawy Pomorze Film Fund. Filming has already taken place in Strasbourg, Kraków and Warsaw. The crew has since moved to Toruń and Bierzgłów Castle, with additional filming planned in Warmia and Uppsala, Sweden.
“This will be the story of a Copernicus we do not know,” says director and producer Sebastian Bartkowski. “The film will explore several intriguing aspects of his life, including the mystery surrounding his portrait. We know little about issues such as his personal conflicts, how much he earned, who owed him money, whether he himself was in debt, or what his relationships with those closest to him were like.”
The film features well-known Polish actors. Nicolaus Copernicus is portrayed by Mariusz Drężek, known for his roles in the television series For Better and for Worse, M jak miłość, Złotopolscy, Father Matthew, The Crown of the Kings, as well as the feature films Pitbull and Full Speed Ahead. Anna Schilling, the woman closest to the famous astronomer, is played by Aleksandra Popławska, recognized for her performances in The Teacher, The Convict, The Border, The Hound and Women of Mafia.
“None of us lived in Copernicus’s time, so what we present is inevitably our own interpretation of who he was,” Mariusz Drężek said during a press meeting at the Nicolaus Copernicus House in Toruń, where further scenes were filmed. “We want to tell the story of his relationships with other people.”
“When you search Google for ‘Copernicus’s mistress,’ Anna Schilling is the name that comes up. And if you search for ‘Copernicus’s housekeeper,’ the same name appears,” Aleksandra Popławska remarked. “From the screenplay, however, it seems more accurate to describe her as his housekeeper.”
The cast of Copernicus – The Unknown Faces also includes the popular character actor Lech Dyblik, along with more than one hundred extras.
The film is scheduled to premiere on 19 February 2027, marking another anniversary of the birth of the great astronomer.
Updates on the production are available on the Facebook profile of the Film Institute of the Unisław Historical Society.
Dariusz Czołgowski
Promotion Department
20 July 2026