Catastrophe and trial. The series "Heweliusz" will be shown in November

The series "Heweliusz" will premiere in November of this year - this is the latest information from Netflix. A preview of this production has just appeared online. The series will tell not only about the greatest tragedy in the post-war history of the Polish Merchant Navy, but also about the trial that was supposed to explain its causes.

For the popular streaming service, the story of the sea disaster, which shocked all of Poland, and especially the communities of Szczecin and Świnoujście, is one of the most important premieres this year. It is known that a lot of money was spent on the five-episode series. Netflix reported 105 days of shooting, 3,000 extras and 70 locations, convincing that it is "an undertaking of exceptional difficulty, giving the actors and crew enormous creative and production satisfaction". The filming was carried out in Szczecin, Stargard, Warsaw and near Brussels, among other places. In short, it is a grand scale. No wonder Netflix is ​​strongly promoting this picture and is already trying to increase emotions before the autumn premiere.

The cast is star-studded. In "Heweliusz" we will see such actresses and actors as Magdalena Różczka, Michał Żurawski, Borys Szyc, Konrad Eleryk, Justyna Wasilewska and Joachim Lamża, Andrzej Konopka, Tomasz Schuchardt and Michalina Łabacz.

In preparation for their roles, the actors underwent intensive physical training, spent several dozen days on set in the water and worked with experienced stuntmen.

"Heweliusz" is the work of the creators of the series "Wielka Woda" about the flood that devastated Wrocław in the 1990s – Jan Holoubek (director), Kasper Bajon (screenplay) and Anna Kępińska (producer).

Jan Holoubek has had some serious successes. He directed the series "Rojst", the spy film "Doppelgänger. Sobowtór" and "25 Years of Innocence. The Case of Tomek Komenda".

The ship MF Jan Heweliusz, which was sailing from Świnoujście to Ystadt in Sweden, sank on January 14, 1993 off the coast of the German island of Rugia. One of the causes of the tragedy was extreme weather. The storm had a force of 12 on the Beaufort scale, and the wind speed reached 160 km/h. 55 people died, including the captain of the ship Andrzej Ułasiewicz and two children. Not all the bodies were found. Only 9 crew members survived. The wreck of the ship still lies at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

Adam Zadworny, a journalist from Szczecin and author of a book about the disaster, said in an interview for Radiowa Jedynka:

- All passengers of the Jan Heweliusz were sentenced to death because there were no thermal suits for them. The steward of this ferry, who was responsible for the safety of the passengers, during the trial before the Maritime Chamber, when asked by one of the judges what chances the passengers had, answered in one word, none. ©℗

Alan Sasinowski