PRAGUE, Sept 22 (CTK) – The Film Oliver Twist by renowned Polish-born director Roman Polanski will have a world premiere in Prague, where it was shot last year, on Saturday, September 24, the SPI distribution company informed CTK today.
The film has already been screened at the film festival in Toronto, Canada, and other screenings are planned in New York and Los Angeles. However, producers along with Polanski decided to hold the official world premiere with film creators and actors present in Prague.
The premiere in Prague’s Slovansky dum will be attended by Polanski, along with actors Barney Clark, Harry Eden, Jamie Foreman, Leanne Rowe, producers Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde, as well as art designers Allan Starski and Anna Shepard, the SPI company informed, adding that the attendance of famous British actor Ben Kingsley has not been confirmed yet. The film will be internationally distributed on September 30.
Oliver Twist, made in British-French-Czech co-production, is the adaptation of a classical British 19th-century novel by Charles Dickens, telling the story of little orphan Oliver and his adventures in the London underworld. The script was written by Ronald Harwood.
The film was shot in Prague’ Barrandov studios, where the wings imitating London streets in the first half of the 19th century were built, and in other locations in the Czech Republic. The film music was recorded in Prague this year. The leading role is played by 10-year old Barney Clark, while Kingsley is featuring as Fagin, chief of the London gang of pick-pockets.
Polanski said last year that the work in the Czech Republic was exciting and it was one of the most interesting experiences in his entire film career. He also highly esteemed conditions for film-making in the Czech Republic which, in his own words, cannot be compared to any other country.