Awarded the Silver Lions for Best Film at the Gdynia Film Festival 2016 and Golden Goblet for Best Director at the Shanghai International Film Festival 2017, I’m a Killer is a fascinating psychological thriller that flawlessly combines elements of comedy, drama and gripping murder investigation. Inspired by the true story of a man sentenced to death in a circumstantial trial known as the “Vampire of Zagłębie” case, it tells the story of a young policeman who under professional and social pressure needs to choose between what is morally right and what will bring him a better future. 

In early 1970s a small industrial town in the Silesia region of southern Poland is shaken by a series of murders. All 14 victims are women. When it’s revealed that one of the victims is the niece of the first secretary of the Katowice Voivodship Communist party, pressure increases to catch the so called “vampire”. An ambitious young policeman, Janusz (Mirosław Haniszewski), is assigned to the case and is prepared to do anything to prove himself. Thrown into deep water and pressured by his superiors, he does everything to capture and sentence a murderer despite weak evidence and his own doubts. He introduces a series of innovative techniques and has a large team of detectives to help him catch the killer. After a long and unsuccessful hunt they finally arrest a man who they think might be the murderer. The evidence against him is not strong enough and Kalicki, a simple labourer and father of three, does not want to admit to the crimes. With expectations of a terrorised public and the authorities piling on, in spite of his doubts Janusz eventually makes the suspect sign a confession after grilling him for days. But is he the killer?

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​I’m a Killer by Maciej Pieprzyca, an award-winning director of crowd pleaser “Life Feels Good” and “Splinters”, won a number of prizes, including Silver Lions for Best Film at the Gdynia Film Festival 2016 as well as the Eagles, Awards of the Polish Film Academy, for Arkadiusz Jakubik (Best Supporting Actor) and Agata Kulesza (Best Supporting Actress) for their outstanding performances.

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The film is inspired by the case of Zdzisław Marchwicki, an alleged serial killer who was sentenced to death by a court in communist ruled Poland in 1975. His death was supposed to calm down social tensions and the authorities turned a blind eye to the fact there were many errors in the investigation and some evidence was fabricated. In 1998 Maciej Pieprzyca made a documentary about the events, and in I’m a Killer he revisits the subject to tell the story from the perspective of a young detective who is put in charge of bringing the murderer to justice.

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