The Idiot(s) is a 2026 drama film directed by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert, written by Szumowska and Kasper Bajon and based on the novel The Gambler Wife: A True Story of Love, Risk and the Woman Who Saved Dostoyevsky by Andrew D. Kaufman. A co-production of Poland and Germany, it stars Aimee Lou Wood and Johnny Flynn as Anna and Fydor Dostoyevsky.
The film premiered at the 53rd Telluride Film Festival on 5 September 2026.
Contents
Cast
Aimee Lou Wood as Anna Dostoyevsky
Johnny Flynn as Fydor Dostoyevsky
Vicky Krieps
Christian Friedel
Barbara Marten
Rainer Bock
Production
Development
The project was announced in February 2022 to be directed by Małgorzata Szumowska, who has adapted with Kasper Bajon the novel The Gambler Wife: A True Story of Love, Risk, and the Woman Who Saved Dostoyevsky by Andrew D. Kaufman (2021) which follows the lives of the writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky and his wife Anna Dostoyevsky. In May 2023 it was reported that it would be produced by Ilya Stewart and Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska with the title The Gambler Wife. That month, Matt Dillon and Aimee Lou Wood were cast as Anna and Fydor Dostoyevsky.
In May 2025, Johnny Flynn had replaced Dillon in the cast with production by Hype Studios and Gold Rush Pictures and producers Ilya Stewart and Vladimir Zemtsov with the title The Idiots. Principal photography was scheduled for June 2025 with Michał Englert as cinematographer and co-director. That month, Barbara Marten, Rainer Bock, Vicky Krieps and Christian Friedel joined the cast.
Filming
Principal photography started on 16 June 2025 in Poland, with filming locations including Lower Silesia. First-look images from the set were released in July 2025.
Release
The film had its world premiere at the 53rd Telluride Film Festival on 5 September 2026. It was also selected for the Special Presentations section of the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, where it will screen on 15 September. In October 2026, it will compete at the 2026 BFI London Film Festival in official competition.