Co-produced by Warsaw-based Arcore Studio and Warsaw's Diving Museum, "Klingert's Diving Suit" is directed by Artur Wyrzykowski and based on a script by Agata Koschmieder. The animated film tells a story of Karl Heinrich Klingert, a man who used a specially designed semi-atmospheric diving suit to walk down the Oder's riverbed on 24 June 1797. However, the plot's focus is not on the inventor, but a six-year-old daughter Bi, who has a desperate fear of water due to trauma (her younger brother, Oscar, drowned). The boy's demise had a severe effect on his father: Karl Klingert would spend days and nights in his laboratory to save people from drowning. His efforts resulted in a semi-atmospheric diving suit, which brought only fear to his daughter's face on seeing a special helmet mounted on his head. Only after she spoke to her dad could the girl understand how important the diving suit. This also probably gave her the first chance to mourn her brother's death.
Karl Heinrich Klingert was a very intriguing man who devoted 68 years of his life to science (1760-1828) and went down in history as an the inventor of the diving suit, hand prosthesis, wheelchair and bottle compressor. He could have made many more discoveries if he only had had enough money or sponsors. A group of Warsaw-based enthusiasts came up with the idea to celebrate his achievements. "We started the ball rolling in Warsaw, but we look forward to contributions from our colleagues and institutions in Wroclaw. Our collaboration with the Centre for Audiovisual Technology is the best example in this respect," says Karina Kowalka from the Diving Museum in Warsaw. The Centre's Director Robert Banasiak points out that the film is being made in rotoscoping technology. "We are filming actors in our studio, and the resulting footage will be later transformed into drawings set in 18th-century Wroclaw," he explains.
The première is scheduled for the coming year. Click here to see the trailer.
