“The Nixie”, is a dark folk tale, based on an old Polish legend, immortalized by Adam Mickiewicz in a poem of the same name. It tells the story of a water nymph who takes on a human form to seduce a young man she encounters in the forest. Mesmerized, he makes a vow of love towards her, and the woman transforms back into the nymph to test his love. The young man, who does not know the nymph and woman are the same, succumbs to her mystical beauty and breaks his vow. The nymph then takes her revenge by swallowing him into the lake, where he will eternally remain as his punishment. The film begins in a life-like world and slowly morphs into the fantastical as the line between the real and the mystical blur. A coming-of-age fairytale, “The Fairy of Switez Lake” is a modern, seductive, filmic poem with a catchy new wave soundtrack for this timeless cautionary tale.
Director Julie Bui & Maï Bui / Director of photography, Maï Bui / Creative Producer Marta Szarzyńska / Executive producer Guanabana Production Magda Parol / Co-producers Adam Mickiewicz Institute / National Center for Culture / Adam Wasiak FREE FROG TV / Production manager Magda Parol / Production support Szymon Ziegler / Camera operator gimbal: Łukasz Piotrowski / Underwater photos Mai Bui, Adam Wasiak / Aerial photography Severine Walter / Plan manager Krzysztof Łukomski / Set design, props Pałka Antoniewicz / Costumes Kamila Czerwińska, Yvonne Heron / Make-up Magdalena Zimoląg / Protective divers Justyna Wasiak, Andrzej Piekarski, Robert Mińkowski / Still photos Desi Kunsa / Making of Paweł Zwoliński Marian, Kupidłowski – SFP / Owl Gizmo Ilona Maciejska
2018
Julie Bui & Maï Bui
Maï Bui
Paula Szpakowska, Patrycja Gacka, Nikodem Rozbicki
Marta Szarzyńska
Guanabana Production Magda Parol
Adam Mickiewicz Institute / National Center for Culture / Adam Wasiak FREE FROG TV