Under the Volcano (2024 film)

Under the Volcano
Under the Volcano
	Theatrical release poster
Polish	Pod wulkanem
Directed by	Damian Kocur
Written by	Damian Kocur; Marta Konarzewska;
Produced by	Mikołaj Lizut; Agnieszka Jastrzębska;
Starring	Sofiia Berezovska; Roman Lutskyi; Anastasiia Karpenko; Fedir Pugachov;
Cinematography	Nikita Kuzmenko
Edited by	Alan Zejer
Production; companies	Lizart Film; Hawk Art; MGM; TVP;
Release date	8 September 2024 (TIFF);
Running time	102 minutes
Country	Poland
Languages	Ukrainian; Spanish; English; Russian; German; Wolof;

Under the Volcano (Polish: Pod wulkanem) is a 2024 Polish drama film directed by Damian Kocur. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2024. It was selected as Poland's submission for Best International Feature Film at the upcoming 97th Academy Awards.^[1]

Premise

A Ukrainian family on vacation in Tenerife learns that they cannot return home due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Cast

Sofiia Berezovska as Sofiia Kovalenko, a 16-year-old Ukrainian girl
Roman Lutskyi [uk] as Roman Kovalenko, Sofiia's father
Anastasiia Karpenko [uk] as Anastasiia Kovalenko, Sofiia's stepmother
Fedir Pugachov as Fedir Kovalenko, Sofiia's younger brother

Release

Salaud Morisset acquired international sales rights to the film in August 2024.^[2] The trailer was released on 7 September 2024.^[3]

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2024.^[4] It will also be screened at the 2024 Gdynia Film Festival as the festival's opening film.^[5]^[6]

Reception

Jared Mobarak of The Film Stage gave the film a grade of B+, writing that "[Damian] Kocur has given form to the purgatory of survival in times of horror."^[7] David Katz of Cineuropa wrote, "From an immediately pressurised opening, Under the Volcano drifts into a pleasing and paradoxically hypnotic kind of stasis, shot with oft-deteriorated available light and in shallow focus with long lenses – not quite a 'hangout' movie, and more about biding time in urban loneliness...."^[8]

Accolades

Award	Year	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
BFI London Film Festival	2024	Best Film	Under the Volcano	Nominated
Cork International Film Festival	2024	Spirit of the Festival Award		Nominated
Gdynia Film Festival	2024	Golden Lions		Nominated	^[9]
Gdynia Film Festival	2024	Best Professional Acting Debut	Sofiia Berezovska	Won	^[9]
Marrakech International Film Festival	2024	Étoile d'Or	Under the Volcano	Nominated	^[10]
		Best Director	Damian Kocur	Won
		Best Performance by an Actor	Roman Lutskyi [uk]	Won
São Paulo International Film Festival	2024	New Directors Competition	Under the Volcano	Nominated
Thessaloniki International Film Festival	2024	Golden Alexander		Nominated
Warsaw Film Festival	2024	Crème de la Crème Award		Nominated
Zurich Film Festival	2024	Best International Feature Film		Nominated

References

^ Grobar, Matt (18 September 2024). "Poland Selects Damian Kocur's 'Under The Volcano' As Official Oscar Entry". Deadline. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
^ Barraclough, Leo (15 August 2024). "Salaud Morisset Boards 'Under the Volcano' Ahead of Toronto Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
^ Balaga, Marta (7 September 2024). "Poland's Damian Kocur Follows 'Bread and Salt' With Ukraine-Centered 'Under the Volcano,' Debuts Trailer: 'It Was Important to Mark My Solidarity' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
^ Dębowska, Anna S. (7 August 2024). "Premiera polskiego filmu na festiwalu w Toronto. Wcześniej tym reżyserem zachwyciła się Wenecja". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
^ Oleksik, Katarzyna (12 July 2024). "Ogłoszono nominacje do Złotych Lwów. Który polski film ma szansę na statuetkę?". Dzień Dobry TVN (in Polish). Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
^ Kempys, Anna (23 August 2024). "Gdynia 2024: Ujawniono film otwarcia. To będzie mocne wydarzenie!". Interia (in Polish). Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
^ Mobarak, Jared (9 September 2024). "TIFF Review: Under the Volcano Gives Form to the Purgatory of Survival in Times of Horror". The Film Stage. Archived from the original on 9 September 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
^ Katz, David (11 September 2024). "Review: Under the Volcano". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
^ "Green Border emerges triumphant at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia". Cineuropa. 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
^ Goodfellow, Melanie (7 December 2024). "Marrakech Winners: Palestinian Drama 'Happy Holidays' Wins Best Film". Deadline. Retrieved 7 December 2024.

External links

Under the Volcano at IMDb

[1] Grobar, Matt (18 September 2024). "Poland Selects Damian Kocur's 'Under The Volcano' As Official Oscar Entry". Deadline. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.

[2] Barraclough, Leo (15 August 2024). "Salaud Morisset Boards 'Under the Volcano' Ahead of Toronto Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.

[3] Balaga, Marta (7 September 2024). "Poland's Damian Kocur Follows 'Bread and Salt' With Ukraine-Centered 'Under the Volcano,' Debuts Trailer: 'It Was Important to Mark My Solidarity' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.

[4] Dębowska, Anna S. (7 August 2024). "Premiera polskiego filmu na festiwalu w Toronto. Wcześniej tym reżyserem zachwyciła się Wenecja". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.

[5] Oleksik, Katarzyna (12 July 2024). "Ogłoszono nominacje do Złotych Lwów. Który polski film ma szansę na statuetkę?". Dzień Dobry TVN (in Polish). Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.

[6] Kempys, Anna (23 August 2024). "Gdynia 2024: Ujawniono film otwarcia. To będzie mocne wydarzenie!". Interia (in Polish). Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.

[7] Mobarak, Jared (9 September 2024). "TIFF Review: Under the Volcano Gives Form to the Purgatory of Survival in Times of Horror". The Film Stage. Archived from the original on 9 September 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.

[8] Katz, David (11 September 2024). "Review: Under the Volcano". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.

[9] "Green Border emerges triumphant at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia". Cineuropa. 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.

[10] Goodfellow, Melanie (7 December 2024). "Marrakech Winners: Palestinian Drama 'Happy Holidays' Wins Best Film". Deadline. Retrieved 7 December 2024.

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v t e Polish submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
1963–1975	Knife in the Water (1963) Passenger (1964) Pharaoh (1966) Matthew's Days (1968) Everything for Sale (1969) The Taste of Black Earth (1970) Family Life (1971) Pearl in the Crown (1972) Copernicus (1973) The Deluge (1974) The Promised Land (1975)
1976–2000	Nights and Days (1976) Camouflage (1977) Death of a President (1978) The Maids of Wilko (1979) Olympics 40 (1980) Man of Iron (1981) Yesterday (1985) Axiliad (1986) Hero of the Year (1987) A Short Film About Love (1988) Kornblumenblau (1989) Korczak (1990) The Double Life of Véronique (1991) All That Really Matters (1992) Squadron (1993) Three Colours: White (1994) Crows (1995) At Full Gallop (1996) Love Stories (1997) Pan Tadeusz (1999) Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease (2000)
2001–present	Quo Vadis (2001) Edi (2002) Pornografia (2003) The Welts (2004) The Collector (2005) Retrieval (2006) Katyń (2007) Tricks (2008) Reverse (2009) All That I Love (2010) In Darkness (2011) 80 Million (2012) Walesa: Man of Hope (2013) Ida (2014) 11 Minutes (2015) Afterimage (2016) Spoor (2017) Cold War (2018) Corpus Christi (2019) Never Gonna Snow Again (2020) Leave No Traces (2021) EO (2022) The Peasants (2023) Under the Volcano (2024)