Project Detail

The Last Witness

Synopsis

In post-war England, journalist Stephen Underwood is keen to prove his worth. Working for a local newspaper he spends his days covering weddings and funerals while always on the lookout for a story that will catapult him into the big league. When he comes across the suicide of a Polish soldier from a nearby Displaced Persons Camp his journalistic instincts kick in, sensing something isn’t quite right, and his first port of call is to question Colonel Janusz Pietrowski, a Liaison Officer for the re-settlement of Polish troops under British command. Their meeting leaves Stephen unsettled – something just doesn’t quite ring true.
Stephen’s lover is Jeanette Mitchell, a Junior Commander in the Auxiliary Territorial Service working under Captain John Underwood, Stephen’s brother. Trapped in a marriage of convenience with a military intelligence officer, she shares Stephen’s dream of escape. It is during one of their clandestine meetings that Stephen witnesses a confrontation between a local farmer and Michael Loboda, a new arrival at the Camp, during which Loboda lets slip that he is Russian... not Polish.
Sensing a twist, Stephen questions Loboda to find out why he is posing as a Polish refugee. Loboda reacts aggressively but tries to give nothing further away. Later, unbeknownst to Loboda, Stephen discovers he is hiding a small cash-box containing a blood stained diary...
From here, Stephen’s investigation escalates as he finds himself embroiled in a dangerous, multi-layered conspiracy concerning the execution of 22,000 Polish military and civilians by Stalin’s secret police.
This is a fictional re-imagining of a bloody, heart-breaking, true tale. One that has been covered up for far too long.

Details

Year: 2018
Type of film: Features
Running time: 93 mins
Director: Piotr Szkopiak
Producer: Carol Harding
Executive Producer: Grant Bradley, Laurence Brown, Steve Hodges, Maggie Monteith, Chris Reed
Editor: Jo Dixon
Screenwriter: Piotr Szkopiak, Paul Szambowski
Director of Photography: Edward Ames
Principal cast: Alex Pettyfer, Talulah Riley, Michael Gambon, Robert Wieckiewicz

Genre

Drama

Production Status

Post-production

Production Company

Vicarious Dreams Ltd

Hope House
Hope Farm
Edvin Loach
Bromyard
Herefordshire
HR7 4PW

Visit Website

www.vicariousdreams.com

Sales Company

GFM FILMS LLP

Claudia Ramos
10 Coda Studios
189 Munster Road
London
SW6 6AW

Visit Website

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