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Playtime, a Paris-based sales, production and equity investment company, has picked up “Chopin, a Sonata in Paris,” an ambitious biopic of famed composer and pianist Frédéric Chopin hailing from Poland’s leading production banner Akson Studio.

Budgeted at $17.5 million, the movie reteams producer-director Michał Kwieciński with the rising Polish actor of “Filip,” Eryk Kulm starring as Chopin. Lambert Wilson (“The Matrix Resurrections”) stars as King Louis Philippe.

“Chopin, a Sonata in Paris” boasts a polished, baroque aesthetic bolstered by a key crew including Michał Sobociński, the cinematographer of the AppleTV+ series “The New Look” producer designer Katarzyna Sobańska, whose credits include the Oscar-nominated film “Cold War.”

Penned by Bartosz Janiszewski (“Wataha”), the 19th century-set movie charts Chopin’s journey as a bold, young pianist who left his native Poland at the age of 21 and traveled to Paris where he wielded music’s power like no other. “He is the lifeblood of the city,...

Lambert Wilson will play King Louis Philippe in Michał Kwieciński’s upcoming drama “Chopin, Chopin!” about composer Frédéric Chopin.

“I’ve always adored Chopin,” Wilson told Variety. “I live with his music and the music of Liszt, and I’ve always been fascinated by the Romantic era in Europe. Particularly in France, with this connection between writers and musicians [revolving] around the character of George Sand.”

According to Lambert, the film’s script — written by Bartosz Janiszewski — gives an “accurate and very touching” vision of the last part of the composer’s life. Chopin died in 1849.

“It alternates between lavish court scenes, where French King Louis Philippe [played by Lambert] will appear both flippant and distressed, and intimate moments, showing the solitude of this artist and his eventual descent into illness and death,” the actor adds.

Chopin will be played by Eryk Kulm, who will also perform the composer’s music in the film.

Mubi Swoops For Andrea Arnold’s ‘Bird’

Mubi has acquired UK and Ireland rights to Bird, the Andrea Arnold feature that is getting its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Written and directed by Arnold, the pic stars Barry Keoghan, Franz Rogowski (Passages, Great Freedom), and newcomers Nykiya Adams and Jason Buda. The plot follows a 12-year-old girl, Bailey, who lives with her dad and brother in a squat in north Kent in southern England. As her dad has little time for his kids, Bailey seeks attention and adventure elsewhere. BBC Studios-owned House Productions made the film, which was shot in the UK around the Kent area. Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Lee Groombridge are the producers. Financiers include BBC Film, the BFI through National Lottery funding), Pinky Promise, FirstGen Content and Access Entertainment. Cornerstone is handling international sales and distribution, striking the deal with Mubi.

Exclusive: Disney+ is moving into originals in the Central and Eastern Europe region with a green light for Polish drama Breslau (working title). The drama will follow a police officer investigating an horrific killing and production is underway, Deadline has learned.

The cast includes Tomasz Schuchardt (You are God), Agata Kulesza (Ida), and Sandra Drzymalska (Filip). Leszek Dawid (My Name Is Ki) directs from Bartosz Janiszewski and Magdalena Żakowska’s script.

The eight-part crime drama is set in 1936 in Breslau (the German name for the Polish city of Wrocław). It will tell the story of a commissioner Franz Podolsky, who investigates a brutal murder. Because of the upcoming Olympic Games, the pressure is on to catch the murderer.

“This is an important moment for Disney+ in Poland,” said Magdalena Cieslak, Director Original Productions Disney+ in Cee. “It’s our first Original production in Central and Eastern Europe and we are excited that such talented,...