DEMON Final Screening

Tonight's the final screening of Marcin Wrona's Demon. Normally, we'd write something silly here, but Wrona died this morning. So instead, I'm going to share a few trailers to his films an encourage you to go and see what is tragically his final film. It's a really good one.

My Flesh, My Blood (2009)

The Christening (2010)

And his short film, "Telefono" (2004)

DEMON Final Screening:
Sat. Sept 19, 9:15PM SCOTIABANK 13

RIP, Marcin Wrona Director of DEMON

We at Vanguard are greatly saddened to hear the news that Marcin Wrona, director of Demon has passed away.

The Toronto International Film Festival issued the following statement regarding the passing of Polish director Marcin Wrona, including a quote from Vanguard Curator, Colin Geddes: 

“We are all deeply shocked and saddened at the news of the sudden death of Marcin Wrona. His film DEMON truly marked the emergence of a strong new voice on the world cinema stage. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family, especially his wife and producing partner, Olga Szymanska, who was with him at the premiere in Toronto.”

 The final screening of DEMON is scheduled to take place this evening at 9:15PM at Scotiabank Theatre during which time TIFF will take the opportunity to pay tribute to Mr. Wrona. 

We have this from publicist Jim Dobson's announcement of Wrona's death.

Marcin Wrona, the director of the Polish Horror film "Demon" which made its World Premiere in World Cinema competition at the Toronto Film Festival last week, was found dead in a hotel room in Poland on Friday night.

Wrona was preparing for the Polish premiere of the film at the Gdynia Film Festival. The film was also slated to premiere at the upcoming Fantastic Fest in Austin and the Sitges Film Festival, as well as theatrical release in Poland in October.

 Wrona, who was born in the city of Tarnów in southern Poland in 1973, and was considered to be one of the brightest talents of his generation in the Polish film industry, His film Demon hinges on a dybbuk, the spirit of a dead person who according to Jewish mythology haunts the living. The film, Wrona's third, was an unconventional approach to Poland's coming to terms with the Holocaust.

The director had just returned to Poland following the film’s success as the Toronto Film Festival. His newlywed wife Olga Szymanska was also producer on the film "Demon." They had just signed with ICM Partners to sell the film and to break into the U.S. market with future films.

Polish police are currently investigating the death and no further information is available.

DEMON: What Is A Dybbuk?

Marcin Wrona's Demon deals with the DYBBUK, something that finds its origin in Jewish folklore. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, a dybbuk (or dibbuk) is "an evil spirit which enters into a living person, cleaves to his soul, causes mental illness, talks through his mouth, and represents a separate and alien personality."

That sounds frankly terrifying to me.

Interestingly the term does not appear in Talmudic (central text of Rabbinic Judaism) literature or the Kabbalah, where it is only referred to as "evil spirit" or in the case of the New Testament, "unclean spirit." In fact, the term dibbuk only made its first appearance in the 17th century, being introduced into literature through the spoken language of German and Polish Jews.

"He ain't heavy, he's my dybbuk."

The manifestations of the dibbuk have evolved over time. Initially, they were considered to be devils or demons, which entered the host body of a sick individual. Later, they were explained as kind of restless spirits who became demons.

Again, according to the Jewish Virtual Library:

They were generally considered to be souls, which, on account of the enormity of their sins, were not even allowed to transmigrate, and as "denuded spirits" they sought refuge in the bodies of living persons. The entry of a dibbuk into a person was a sign of his having committed a secret sin, which opened a door for the dibbuk.

The word "dybbuk" is actually an abbreviation of a Hebrew phrase that means "a cleavage of an evil spirit." Therefore it's not just an evil spirit that enters the body, it is also one that binds itself to the person's soul, which is far more insidious and frightening.

There are manuscripts that describe how to exorcise these evil spirits, much as there are in Christian texts. More modern beliefs ascribe the phenomenon of the dybbuk as a "hysterical syndrome," or a psychological ailment.

Regardless of whether the dybbuk is an actual evil entity or a symptom of mental illness, it's a disturbing concept. How will Demon explore the concept of a dybbuk and how it manifests itself in modern society?

You'll have to see the movie to find out.

DEMON Screening Times:
Sun. Sept 13, 4:15PM SCOTIABANK 10
Sat. Sept 19, 9:15PM SCOTIABANK 13

DEMON Director Profile: 5 Questions for Marcin Wrona

Marcin Wrona is an extremely strong presence in the European entertainment industry, with experience in film, theatre and television directing, as well as screenwriting and producing. He first gained notoriety in film school for his short film Magnet Man, which was featured in several film festivals and highly decorated in its festival circuit. His latest feature film Demon follows an encounter with a dybbuk, which is a demonic entity that has its roots as a part of Jewish folklore. This film promises to be an unsettling and provocative inclusion to the TIFF alumni, making it a perfect fit for Vanguard.

I got the chance to chat with Wrona about his work with Demon, and get a little glimpse into his beliefs as a filmmaker.

Richelle Charkot: Where did you first learn about the story of the dybbuk? What were your thoughts? 

Marcin Wrona:  Dybbuk is part of our past, culture and history. It belonged to beliefs of Jewish communities, which used to lived Poland. Dybbuk was present in the Polish culture and theatre (famous theatre play called "Dybbuk" written by Szymon An-sky in 1914 - as a kind of scary version of Romeo and Juliet) - as a mystical phenomenon and powerful metaphoric symbol of love between life and death, soul and mind, the past and now. Few years ago I began thinking what the dybbuk could be like in nowadays. I thought this is was a great idea for a film: a ghost from the past comes back to a Polish wedding, as a provocative and uninvited guest who forces all the guest to confront with their own identity. The past that can't be forgotten and erased, because is a part of our DNA.

RC: Tell me about one of your earliest memories with expressing yourself visually. 

MW: In my early school years I had obligatory visit at psychologist who was checking how a child is skilled, what are he's natural preferences and what type of mind he has, etc. I remember I had a task given: draw something what you like. I said I like to draw, especially people faces. I also remember when in my primary school I wrote a short story about plants that talk to each other. Our class teacher suspected I had rewritten it from a novel.

RC: Why do you think humans are attracted to horror and the macabre? 

MW: I think watching a horror is like touching a primal fear. People need that kind of feeling, same like having fun. We look for different emotion so that create our emotional system and scale. I like horrors that offer more than just simple, pure fear. That's way I added more cross-genere elements to Demon.  It starts like pure genre, and than gradually becomes multilevel. I hope audience will get that vibe.

RC: From your perspective as a storyteller, do you enjoy making typically darker films? 

MW: Not really. Obviously dark stories seem to be more tempting, but each story has different temperature and mood, so a genre you use for your film depends on energy of a plot and relationships between characters. Everything begins with a story, and then consequently you decide what genre is the most suitable for that specific plot you will finally put info a cinematic frame. The main idea (core of the story) starts all the narrative elements, which are just tools; the director decides which of them are the best for the story you want to share with audience. In every sad stories I look for funny moments. In light I search darkness. The contradictions build a conflict - and viewer interest.


RC: Describe someone who is the ideal audience for Demon. 

MW: I would love to people will perceive Demon as a film which contains universal elements for international and local audience. I hope the concept itself is interesting enough for genre lovers, critics, and those who simply love cinema. Those who like cross-genre films should be especially satisfied.

DEMON screens:
Fri, Sept 11, 6:15 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS
Sun, Sept 13, 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK
Sat, Sept 19, 9:15 PM SCOTIABANK

DEMON: Polish Genre Essentials

Demon, directed by Marcin Wrona, details the classic story of the dybbuk, a Jewish legend which has haunted several stories since its creation. With the highly anticipated Demon coming soon to Vanguard, it seemed like the right time to revisit some other pillars of Polish genre cinema.

The Devil (1972) 

Directed by Andrzej Żuławski, who was no stranger to having his films banned from the country, this exploitation-level psychotic film chronicles the Prussian invasion of Poland in 1793. A man named Jakub escapes imprisonment by someone who in return wish to obtain a list of his fellow conspirators, Jakub then follows him through a labyrinthine underbelly where he learns of his father's murder and his mother's prostitution, which drives him to commit multiple disgusting acts of murder.

Mother Joan of Angels (1961)

Sharing similarities to 1971's The Devils, this Polish staple of nunsploitation follows a priest who visits a parish where a demon is believed to be wreaking havoc on one nun, but when he gets there he finds himself overcome by a world of depravity. Directed by Jerzy Kawlerowicz, this film has a scene that is one of the most deserving of iconic status, depicting several nuns sprawled around the church ground in a group exorcism, making it a must-see for fans of genre-weirdness.


The Third Part of the Night (1971) 

Also by Andrzej Żuławski, this film is further off of the horror-edge than his other work, but is equally violent and bleak. It follows a man named Michal in Nazi-occupied Poland, who while hiding in the forrest loses his entire family to a horde of murderous soldiers. Michal sees doppelgänger copies of his deceased wife wherever he goes which drives him further into a pit of madness, as this slowly paced movie falls further and further into absurdity.

Although the country is often sparse in its inclusions to the scene and many of its films cross over multiple genres and persuasions, Polish pieces are rife with political overtones and violence, likely due to a long history of upheaval in the country.

DEMON screens:
Fri, Sept 11, 6:15 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS
Sun, Sept 13, 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK
Sat, Sept 19, 9:15 PM SCOTIABANK

DEMON First Look: Poster and Trailer

Vanguard alum Marcin Wrona (The Christening, 2010) is returning to TIFF with the creepy tale of a dybbuk, a malicious spirit found in Jewish mythology, that possesses a man during just before his wedding. Demon is based on the Polish play Adherence by Piotr Rowicki and judging from the poster and trailer will leave you chilled and unsettled.

Below is the poster and the atmospherically creepy trailer for Demon, which plays this year's Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

(Source: Fangoria)

Further information about Demon can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the film's Twitter account.

DEMON screening times:

Sun Sep 13 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK 13
Tue Sep 15 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sun Sep 20 2:30 PM SCOTIABANK 4