Toruń and the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region have become the filming locations for “Wolf Children” (“Wilcze dzieci”), produced by Marcin Wierzchosławski, founder of Metro Films. The cast also includes Łukasz Simlat, who will be a Special Guest at this year’s ToruńCAMERIMAGE festival. The film received funding from the Kujawy Pomorze Film Fund, with support from EU funds. Its story is deeply rooted in the region and inspired by real-life events involving Wanda Szuman, a pioneer of special education who worked in the Kuyavian region. Directed by Radosław Dunaszewski, the film is scheduled for release in December 2027. The cast also features Jolanta Fraszyńska and Andrzej Chyra, among others.
“Wolf Children” is inspired by true events from the 1950s. It tells the story of several-year-old brothers discovered in Poland in a feral state, as well as the relationship between a mentor and her student, who stand up to the communist regime in a fight to save innocent lives devastated by the turmoil of war.
A rebellious seventeen-year-old keeps getting expelled from one school after another until, at last, she meets the right mentor and is given a challenging task that offers both of them a chance to turn their lives around. Recruited by the charismatic special education teacher Wanda Szuman to work with twin boys who have lived like animals since infancy, she throws herself wholeheartedly into the effort to reintegrate them into society and uncover the mystery of their origins. But if the two women fail to outsmart the Communist Party, which has its own reasons for preventing them from helping the boys, the headstrong teenager will remain trapped by her inner demons, while the children will be denied the help they desperately need.
Anka and Wanda eventually succeed, winning a legal battle for custody of the children and working tirelessly to help them. The brothers finally learn to speak, become socialised and grow into independent adults. Anka, meanwhile, manages to confront her own personal trauma by solving the mystery of the feral children and drawing on the wisdom of her mentor. She is finally ready to move forward. “Wolf Children” is a story about the strength of the human spirit, the power of doing good in dark times, and the solidarity of two fearless women working together for what matters most.
The film stars Łukasz Simlat, one of Poland’s highly regarded film and theatre actors, who will also meet audiences in November during the 34th edition of ToruńCAMERIMAGE (7–14 November 2026). His involvement in the production provides another link between the film and this year’s festival.
The film’s co-producers are the Tumult Foundation and Adam Gudel, while its production partners include local multimedia companies 1Film and Proxymedia Films.
Marcin Wierzchosławski is a film producer, a graduate of the Film Production Department at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice, and the founder of Metro Films. His recent work includes films by Agnieszka Holland, with “Green Border” (“Zielona granica”) receiving the Golden Lions at the 2024 Gdynia Film Festival and the Polish Film Award Eagle for Best Film in 2024, while “Franz” (“Franz Kafka”) won the Silver Lions in 2025.
His productions have also received numerous other awards. “Green Border” won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 2023 and the Audience Award in Gdynia in 2024. “Dad” (“Tata”), directed by Anna Maliszewska, won the Polish Competition at the Off Camera International Festival of Independent Cinema in 2023 and received the Ecumenical Jury Award at the Warsaw Film Festival in 2022. “Bird Talk” (“Mowa ptaków”), directed by Xawery Żuławski, received the Youth Jury Award in Gdynia in 2019, while “The Mole” (“Kret”), directed by Rafael Lewandowski, and “Border” (“Na granicy”), directed by Wojciech Kasperski, both won Audience Awards at the Young and Film Festival in Koszalin in 2011 and 2016, respectively.
“Green Border” also received three nominations for the European Film Awards in 2024, including Best European Film, while “Franz” was selected as Poland’s official submission for the Academy Awards.
Marcin Wierzchosławski is a member of the European Film Academy and the Polish Film Academy, as well as the Polish Producers Guild, which named him Producer of the Year in 2024 for “Green Border”.