Sumith Prasad
Krzysztof Skonieczny has wrapped up the Polish shoot of his upcoming romantic movie ‘Wrooklyn Zoo.’ The production will continue in Los Angeles, California, on an undisclosed date. A modern retelling of William Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ the film revolves around “Romeo, a skilled skateboarder who finds himself captivated by Julia, a Romani girl seeking to emancipate herself from her environment. Their love becomes a powerful force that transcends cultural and societal barriers, leading them on a journey of self-discovery and resilience.”
Wrocław, a city on the Oder River in western Poland, hosted the production of the movie. The city, known for its elegant townhouses, is located in the Silesian Lowlands, around forty kilometers away from the Sudeten Mountains. ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,’ Steven Spielberg’s period film ‘Bridge of Spies,’ Robert Schwentke’s war film ‘The Captain,’ Pawel Pawlikowski’s romantic film ‘Cold War,’ etc. are some of the projects filmed in the region. Los Angeles, on the other hand, is a filming location for projects such as ‘Oppenheimer,’ ‘Barbie,’ ‘Star Wars: Ahsoka,’ ‘Succession,’ ‘House of the Dragon,’ ‘True Detective,’ etc.
“The shoot was demanding and intense, but at the same time, it was satisfying – I feel that we were able to capture a lot of real emotions and magical scenes from reality, and film Wrocław in an auteur-like way, presenting the full spectrum of the city’s character,” Skonieczny told Cineuropa about shooting the film.
Skonieczny is best known for directing HBO Europe’s 2018 crime series ‘Blinded by the Lights.’ The Polish series then became the network’s third-most-watched show in the region. It premiered in the United States in 2019 as well. In addition to directing the series, Skonieczny also plays the character Piorun in the same. The director made his feature film debut with ‘Hardkor Disko.’
“A lot of my efforts while working on Wrooklyn Zoo were based on the concept of writing and shooting this film as if it had come out of the head of a 17-year-old. […] I want the older generations – ‘Gen X’ and the Millennials – sitting in the audience to go back in time and collide with what ‘Gen Z’ is currently going through with the vision that they see on screen. These three age groups are our target audience,” Skonieczny said about the film in the same Cineuropa interview. “I want everyone watching the film to remember their first love that they lost their mind over, and the first death that turned their world upside down,” he added.
The lead actors of the film are non-professional performers and they are yet to be revealed. Tony Trujillo, a professional skateboarder and musician, is part of the cast. Jan Frycz (‘Blinded by the Lights’), Renata Dancewicz, and Konrad Eleryk (‘Mother’s Day’) also feature in the movie. Skonieczny, Olga Bibik, Ara Keshishian, and Petr Jakl serve as producers. The film is expected to be released in late 2024.
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