31-10-2017

Poland Funds Scripts on Polish History

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    WARSAW: The Polish Ministry of Culture announced the results of a special competition held to find new and interesting feature film projects about Polish history. The winning screenwriters received 132,922 EUR / 565,000 PLN toward script development and awards.

    The Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage announced the competition in July 2017, looking for script and film ideas that would showcase events from Polish history in a feature film, and announced the final results on 25 October 2017. The Jury, headed by Jarosław Sokół included Remigiusz Włast-Matuszak, Joanna Kos-Krauze, Edward Chudzik, Rafał Wieczyński, Piotr Gociek, Piotr Dzięcioł, Dariusz Wieromiejczyk and prof. Wojciech Roszkowski.

    "These works are invigorating the industry, resulting in more good, developed and mature ideas. Over the years it has been said that the main problem of Polish film, apart from sound issues, is weak scripts but I think that this is in the past and now we will not face these kinds of obstacles," said Minister of Culture and National Hertage Piotr Gliński.

    Out of 856 submitted film ideas, the Ministry chose 50 projects to receive 706 EUR / 3,000 PLN for their authors to develop treatments. Out of these treatments the Ministry chose five that received 11,763 EUR / 50,000 PLN for the authors to write full scripts. The scholarship winners were Robert Gliński, Tomasz Kamiński, Tomasz Klimala, Marek Ławrynowicz and Joanna Siedlecka.

    The completed scripts were evaluated and the three best projects were awarded with 11,763 EUR / 30,000 PLN each. The winners were Robert Gliński with Sanatorium im. Gorkiego / Gorki's Sanatorium; Marek Ławrynowicz with Bruno Schulz - gra w śmierć / Bruno Schulz - A Death Game and Tomasz Klimala with Sokół / Falcon.  Minister of Culture Piotr Gliński chose three additional treatments and gave honorary mentions and 5,881 EUR / 25,000 PLN in funding to Klaudiusz Kuś, Magdalena Merk and Mirosław Orzechowski.