Filming on Agnus Dei wraps in Poland

The screenplay by Sabrina B. Karine, Alice Vial, Fontaine and Pascal Bonitzer, based on a true story, is set in 1945. It centres on a young woman, Mathilde Beaulieu, who is working in the Polish branch of the French Red Cross. One of her briefs is to find, treat and repatriate French survivors of the German camps.

One day a Polish nun comes to the hospital and implores Mathilde to visit the nearby convent. On doing so, the young intern’s belief system is turned on its head when she discovers the advanced pregnancies of several of the nuns. Lou de Laâge (Breath, Jappeloup) plays Mathilde with Agata Kulesza (Ida) as the abbess. Residents of the surrounding villages were extras on the film.

St. Mary Sanctuary Krosno – near to Orneta – was adapted as a main location in the film and, after painstaking set design, the building of the old train station in Orneta was used to portray the French Red Cross hospital.

Eric and Nicolas Altmayer’s Mandarin Cinema is the leading producer behind the project, supported by Philip Carcassonne. The Polish co-producers are Eliza Oczkowska and Klaudia Åšmieja from Aeroplan Film. Also on board the project are Mars Films, France 2 Cinema and Scope Pictures (Belgium).

The Polish Film Institute and Film Commission Poland supported the project; the film commission’s head Tomasz DÄ…browski said: “We are happy not only because Poland won with other countries, but also because Polish filmmakers take a substantial part in the production: more than 50 members of the 60-person-strong crew are Polish.”

Producer Altmayer added: 'We are very pleased with the co-operation with the Polish crew who exhibited a high level of professionalism.”

For more on filming in Poland, please visit our production guide.