"Loving Vincent”: they paint like van Gogh [PHOTOGRAPHS, VIDEO]

"Twój Vincent" ("Loving Vincent") is the first feature film in the world to be created in PAWS technology. The film elaborates on the life and the mysterious demise of Vincent van Gogh, one of the world's most eminent and best known painters. Armand Roulin, a boy who was portrayed many times by van Gogh, takes the audience for a cinematic journey through the painter's life. The entire film is based on the idea to present conversations with people who knew or met the artist and posed for him.

"The whole project involves around 85 painters," says Ewa Gołda from Breakthru Films, the film's producer. "Our painters will be working in three locations: Wroclaw, Gdańsk and Athens, Greece. The technology they are using combines classical painting techniques with film and photography. The actors starring in the film will be painted in the style resembling that of van Gogh's. The painters were given the task to capture the master's sense of colour and his style. Over 100 paintings by van Gogh will be animated in the film.

The training is provided to artists from Poland and Ukraine. So far they have been working in open workstations, but when the work picks up full steam, they will be provided with special booths so as not to distract other painters and focus on the job.

The painters admit that "Loving Vincent" is both an adventure and challenge and a lot of hard work. A lot of images have to be made to create one scene. Only 7 frames, which gives half a second, was completed throughout the two weeks of the training. Many more will be created once the production picks up steam. Around 61,500 frames/images must be made to create the film.

The film is produced by BreakThru Productions, a Polish company set up by Sean Bobbitt and Hugh Welchman, the Oscar laureate for the short-length feature animated film "Peter and the Wolf" (2008), and Trademark Films, a company established by David Parfitt, who has 9 Oscars and 26 Oscar nominations under his belt (for "Shakespeare in Love", "The Madness of King George", "My Week with Marylin"). The film is co-produced by the City of Wroclaw, Odra-Film and the Centre for Audiovisual Technology.

The film is directed by painter Dorota Kobiela, who also wrote the script in collaboration with writer Jacek Dehnel and producer Hugh Welchman. "Twój Vincent" ("Loving Vincent") is starring: Douglas Booth (Jupiter Ascending, The Riot Club, Noah), Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones, Ripper Street), Emmy-winner Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids, English TV series The IT Crowd), Oscar-nominated Saoirse Ronan (The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Lovely Bones, Atonement), John Sessions (Filth, The Iron Lady), Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark, Death Comes to Pemberley, The White Queen) and Aidan Turner (Poldark, Hobbit).

The film will be premièred in 2016 in Wroclaw as part of the European Capital of Culture celebrations.

"Loving Vincent" on Facebook

Producer Hugh Welchman has shared photos from the production on Instagram.