Jerzy Hoffman, the director of last year's runaway Polish hit With Fire And Sword, is to start shooting next month on the country's biggest production to date, the $12m Quo Vadis.

The project, based on the Nobel Prize-winning book by Henryk Sienkiewicz, is scheduled to go into production on May 8. The plot follows the development of early Christianity during the reign of the Roman

emperor Nero.

Chronos Film is producing, with co-producers including Telewizja Polska(TVP); HBO; Kredyt Bank; the Kadr film studio; Agencja Produkcji Filmowej and WFDiF.

The $8m Fire And Sword took more than $25m at the local box office. Quo Vadis is set for release in September 2001.