Watch 'The Peasents' Concept Trailer- From The Co-Director of 'Loving Vincent'.

It's hard to think of many more original animated features from the past few years than Loving Vincent. The Oscar-nominated film retold the last few days of artist Vincent Van Gogh using a style based on his paintings. More than 100 artists created 65,000 oil paintings based on previously shot live-action footage created a genuinely unique experience. The film's directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman are working on a follow-up film that will recreate this technique (although this time not using Van Gogh's specific style).

The studio behind Loving Vincent, BreakThru Films will produce The Peasants, based on the Polish novel Chlopi by Nobel-winning author Władysław Reymont. This time Dorota Kobiela will have sole director's credit, although Kobiela and Welchman worked together on the screenplay. Unlike their previous film which was set in France, with a mainly British and Irish cast, The Peasants takes place in the studio's native Poland and features a Polish cast.

The story is based upon the Nobel Prize winning novel by Wladyslaw Reymont. ’The Peasants’ is a tragic story of a peasant girl Jagna forced to marry a much older, wealthy farmer Boryna, despite her love for his son Antek. With time, Jagna becomes the object of envy and hate of the villagers and has to fight to preserve her independence. Set in the Polish countryside on the cusp of the 19th and 20th Centuries, the story’s dramatic turns tie into the changing seasons, hard labour in the fields and traditional local holidays.

The art in the film is inspired by what is known as the 'Young Poland' period, a time when Polish art, music and literature flourished around the turn of the 20th Century. Work began back in April, and is supported by a grant from the Polish government.  The film will consist of 72,000 paintings that will be produced by a team of 50 artists based in the Polish city of Sopot,  as well as artists in Serbia and Ukraine.

The Peasants is not due out until 2022, but BreakThru has released a 'concept trailer' to show off the film's animation and mood. Check it out below.




The Peasants is not the only movie currently in production using Loving Vincent's style. Welchman is executive producer on A Winter's Journey, based on Franz Schubert’s classical song cycle Winterreise.  Also due in 2022, it is directed by Alex Helfecht and features John Malkovich and Gaspard Ulliel.  Find out more at the film's website