Succession megastar Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg from The Social Network stunned locals after being snapped filming scenes of a forthcoming Holocaust film in the Muranów district.
/PAP

Jesse Eisenberg, who played Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, and Kieran Culkin from HBO’s megahit Succession have been seen spotted in Poland working on a forthcoming Holocaust film set in Warsaw and Lublin.

Yesterday, on Zamenhofa street in Warsaw near the POLIN Museum, surprised locals were able to catch a glimpse of the duo shooting A Real Pain, written and directed by Eisenberg.

Yesterday, on Zamenhofa street in Warsaw, surprised locals were able to catch a glimpse of the duo shooting A Real Pain.WinyloKINO/Facebook

Eisenberg and Culkin – who stars as Roman Roy in the television series Succession – play the lead roles.

The low-key scene was shot next to a fruit and vegetable shop on the street with minimal equipment, a small crew and without any extras.

A Real Pain tells the bitter-sweet story of the relationship between cousins Benji, played by Culkin, and David, played by Eisenberg, who travel to Poland to discover their roots after the death of their grandmother. The film plays out against the shadow of the Holocaust.

Written and directed by Eisenberg, A Real Pain tells the bitter-sweet story of the relationship between cousins Benji and David who travel to Poland to discover their roots.PAP/Abaca

Eisenberg says that in the film he tries to answer the question of whether contemporary pain is valid against the backdrop of real historical trauma.

Filming is taking place in New York, Warsaw, Lublin and Krasnystaw.

Along the way, the pair visit several places important to Polish history and culture.

The low-key scene was shot next to a fruit and vegetable shop on Zamenhofa with minimal equipment, a small crew and without any extras.WinyloKINO/Facebook

In an interview at the Mastercard OFF CAMERA International Festival of Independent Cinema in Kraków earlier this month, Eisenberg admitted that strong ties to Poland as well as a surprising connection to Krasnystaw.

“My grandfather’s family lived there. They left there in 1918, but some of my relatives who survived the war in basements in Lwów later lived in Szczecin when it was annexed to Poland,” he said.

Eisenberg also spoke of a female relative in Poland who died recently of COVID.

Eisenberg recently revealed that his descendants came from Krasnystaw.Wikicommons

“She was an amazing woman who survived the war and lived through a lot of tragedies. She was a truly heroic person to me.”

Eisenberg is known for his roles in Woody Allen’s films To Rome with Love and Cafe Society. His career breakthrough came when he was nominated for an Oscar for the role of Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, in David Fincher’s film The Social Network.

For Kieran Culkin, brother of Home Alone star McCauley, the film shoot represents his first time in Poland.

For Kieran Culkin, brother of Home Alone star McCauley, the film shoot represents his first time in Poland.Justin Lane/PAP/EPA

“I am very happy about this trip. I have never been to your place,” said the actor.

The Polish co-producer is Ewa Puszczyńska’s Extreme Emotions, chich counts films such as Ida and Cold War among its productions.