The Warsaw Jewish Film Festival and The Walt Disney Company Poland are proud to announce A REAL PAIN as the opening film of this year's festival!

Searchlight Pictures’ A REAL PAIN will premiere on the 4 of November as the Opening Gala of the 22nd Warsaw Jewish Film Festival ‘DAVID’S CAMERA’, courtesy of the Walt Disney Company Poland. 

The premiere will be held at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, a main partner of the event and the festival. Director/Writer/Producer/Actor Jesse Eisenberg will be in attendance, along with his co-stars Kieran Culkin and Jennifer Grey and producers Ali Herting and Ewa Puszczyńska.

A REAL PAIN follows mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

The movie had its World Premiere on 20 January 2024 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Waldo Salt Award for Best Screenplay in the US Dramatic Competition, and a standing ovation from the audience. In an interview with Vogue Poland, Eisenberg described his film as a 'love letter to Poland'. Both the director and his wife have Polish roots with Eisenberg recently applying for Polish citizenship.  A REAL PAIN is a story of a search for one's own identity, and discovery of the land of one's ancestors.  In this film, Poland is a fascinating backdrop and environment for the protagonists, and this is the kind of Poland the creator of A REAL PAIN wants to show in America.  

Searchlight Pictures presents the film A REAL PAIN, directed and written by Academy Award® nominee Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Zombieland). In the film, Eisenberg stars alongside Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award winner Kieran Culkin (Succession, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World). Also starring: BAFTA winner and Emmy® nominee Will Sharpe (White Lotus), Golden Globe® nominee Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing), Kurt Egyiawan (Beasts of No Nation), Liza Sadovy (A Small Light) and Daniel Oreskes (The Thomas Crown Affair, Only Murders in the Building). The movie was produced by: Dave McCary (Saturday Night Live, I Saw the TV Glow), Ali Herting (Bodies Bodies Bodies, 'Curse'), Emma Stone (Poor Creatures, Cruella), Jesse Eisenberg, Jennifer Semler (Theater Camp) and Ewa Puszczynska (The Zone of Interest, Cold War).

Behind the camera are the works of director of photography Michał Dymek (EO), production designer Mela Melak (Lipstick on the Glass), costume designer Małgorzata Fudala (The Girl with the Needle), makeup department head Olga Nejbauer (Milosc na pierwsza strone), editor Robert Nassau (The Big Sick), and casting by Jessica Kelly (X, Midsommar).

A REAL PAIN has been accepted into the main competition of the Warsaw Jewish Film Festival 'David’s Camera' and will compete for the POLIN GRAND-PRIX. 

Three screenings of Real Pain are planned during the festival:

- 4 November (MONDAY) - official premiere at the POLIN Museum

- 5 November (TUESDAY) - screening at the POLIN Museum

- 6 November (WEDNESDAY) - screening at the Muranów cinema, with a nationwide theatre premiere taking place on 8 November (FRIDAY).

Festival screenings of the Jesse Eisenberg's movie will be accompanied by meetings and projects that will broaden the reception of this magnificent movie and embed it in the context of the rich history and culture of Polish Jews. 

About Searchlight Pictures

Searchlight Pictures is a global specialty film and television company that develops, produces, finances and acquires motion pictures and series for both worldwide theatrical and streaming releases. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and is part of The Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, the company’s titles have grossed over $5 billion worldwide, amassing 51 Academy Awards including five Best Picture winners since 2009:  Slumdog Millionaire, 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, The Shape of Water, and Nomadland; 62 BAFTA Awards, 34 Golden Globe Awards, and 10 Grammy Awards. Searchlight recently released Tina Mabry’s The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat starring Uzo Aduba, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Sanaa Lathan; Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe; Lanthimos’ 4-time Academy Award winner Poor Things, starring and produced by Stone; Ned Benson’s The Greatest Hits starring Lucy Boynton, Justin H. Min, and Austin Crute; Laura Chinn’s Suncoast, which stars Laura Linney, Nico Parker, and Woody Harrelson, and won U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance at Sundance; and Andrew Haigh’s critically acclaimed romantic drama All of Us Strangers. Upcoming releases include Hold Your Breath, starring Sarah Paulson; A Real Pain, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin, which won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic at Sundance; Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch starring Amy Adams; and James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown starring Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan. The company includes Searchlight Television, the division which develops and produces series for streaming, network, and cable partners, and earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actress and an additional 5 nominations for its first production “The Dropout'' from Elizabeth Meriwether, in partnership with Hulu and 20th Studios. Searchlight Television is currently producing the Spanish-Language limited series “La Máquina”, with Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, for Hulu and Disney+.

5 November (TUESDAY) - tickets are on sale screening at the POLIN Museum!

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