Our Award Winner to Create an Epic Production About the Slavs
Wojciech Smarzowski has received funding from the Polish Film Institute (PISF) for his monumental historical project “Slavs: Swaćba.” The director is also a laureate of our Film Award.
The Polish Film Institute has just announced the results of this year’s first round of grants. A total of PLN 23 million was allocated. The largest grant — PLN 7 million — went to Smarzowski’s new undertaking. The total budget of “Slavs: Swaćba” is estimated at PLN 62.5 million.
This will make it one of the most expensive Polish film productions since 1989. Only two films had larger budgets: Quo Vadis by Jerzy Kawalerowicz from 2001, which cost PLN 76 million, and Chopin, Chopin! by Michał Kwieciński from 2025, with a budget of PLN 65 million.
Smarzowski Will Take Us Back to the Times of Mieszko I
For years, the film industry has referred to this as Smarzowski’s “project of a lifetime.” The director has long announced his intention to tell the story of what happened before the Christianization of Poland. One can expect that “Slavs: Swaćba” — the second word referring to an Old Slavic form of marriage ceremony — will not merely be a grand historical spectacle, but also an important contribution to the discussion about Polish identity.
It is already known that the new project by the director of The Good House will transport audiences to the mid-10th century — the era of the formation of Polish statehood and the reign of the Polan duke Mieszko I. So far, the filmmakers have revealed that the story of “Slavs: Swaćba” will unfold on three levels. The first concerns the building of statehood and the pivotal baptism of Mieszko I. The second is an adventure storyline. The third will reconstruct the pagan beliefs, rituals, and customs of the ancient Slavs.
The production is expected to place strong emphasis on historical detail: from the construction of Slavic strongholds and meticulously recreated costumes and weaponry to the language of the early Slavs. The screenplay will be written by Smarzowski and Wojciech Rzehak, while the producer will be Wojciech Gostomczyk and his Bydgoszcz-based studio Lucky Bob.
Wojciech Smarzowski graduated from the cinematography department of the National Film School in Łódź. He made his directorial debut in 1998 with Małżowina, while widespread recognition came with The Wedding in 2004. His extensive artistic output includes acclaimed and award-winning productions such as The Dark House, Rose, Traffic Department, The Mighty Angel, Volhynia, Clergy, and The Wedding 2.
His latest film, The Good House, created in partnership with the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Film Fund, was the most-watched Polish title last year. More than 2.4 million viewers saw this moving film about domestic violence in cinemas. In October last year, at Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz, Smarzowski received the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Film Award named after Pola Negri.
Dariusz Czołgowski
Promotion Department
May 11, 2026