The Painted Bird

'The Painted Bird' is based on the novel of the same name by Jerzy Kosinski. It follows a nameless child simply referred to as Boy (Petr Kotlár) who is sent to life with his aunt in rural Eastern Europe as World War II rages. When Boy arrives and finds his aunt dead and Eastern Europe ravaged and brutalised by war, the child is forced to fend for himself to survive. The film is divided up into several chapters, with each section named after a character that the boy comes across in this hellish and war-torn landscape. 'The Painted Bird' explores how war gives rise to the ugliest side of human nature as the audience sees, through the eyes of a child, what violent atrocities are committed against innocents.

'The Painted Bird' is directed and adapted for the screen by Václav Marhoul ('Tobruk', 'Smart Philip'). Joining the cast are Stellan Skarsgård ('Good Will Hunting', 'Chernobyl'), Harvey Keitel ('Reservoir Dogs', 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'), Barry Pepper ('Saving Private Ryan', 'The Green Mile'), Udo Kier ('Downsizing', 'The Barefoot Emperor'), Julian Sands ('A Room with a View', 'What/If'), Aleksey Kravchenko ('9th Company', 'Come and See'), Petr Vanek ('Last Holiday', 'Serena') and Jitka Cvancarová ('Head Over Heels', 'Doktor Martin').