06-04-2010

Polish Film Institute grants 12 international productions

By Katarzyna Grynienko

    The Polish Film Institute had granted over 36.4 million PLN (EUR 9.4million) to support new Polish productions, including twelve international projects.

    The Polish Film Institute (PFI, www.pisf.pl) had introduced four new funding priorities: Author Film (31 grants), Films devoted to historical topics (16 grants), Films for the youth and family audiences (6 grants), and Films with a significant commercial potential (5 grants).

    Out of 58 new Polish productions financed by the Polish Film Institute, 12 are international co-productions including Schultz, a historical drama devoted to the last year in life of Bruno Schultz, directed by Andrzej Domalik and produced by FilmContract LTD. (www.filmcontract.pl) with a planned budget of 7 million PLN with 3 million PLN in PFI funding.

    The Institute also supported Uwodzicielka liczb, a Polish-American co-production directed by Bruce Beresford, co-produced by Apple Film Production (www.applefilm.pl) with a planned budget of 33.6 million PLN with 2 million PLN of PFI funding.

    1 million PLN was granted to a Polish-Czech co-production W cieniu konia (In the Horses Shadow) directed by David Ondricek and produced by Centrala (www.centralafilm.pl) with a planned budget of 11 million PLN.

    PFI supported several interesting debuts including Być jak Kazimierz Deyna (Be like Kazimierz Deyna), a feature drama about a father who wants to raise his son to be a star soccer player, directed by Anna Wieczur Bluszcz and produced by Skorpion Arte with a planned budget of 3.4 million PLN with 2 million PLN of PFI funding.

    Another awaited Polish debut is Lincz (Lynch), a drama based on a true story of six men lynching a brutal recidivist in a Polish village, directed by Krzysztof Łukaszewicz and produced by Documentary and Feature Film Production Company (WDFiF, www.wfdif.com.pl) with a planned budget of 3.2 million PLN with 2 million PLN of PFI funding.

    One of the biggest grants, 4 million PLN, was given to Czarny Czwartek (Black Thursday), a historical drama about the Polish worker riots in December of 1970, directed by Antoni Krauze and produced by Kazimierz Beer Nordfilm (www.nordfilm.pl) with a total budget 6.9 million PLN.

    2 million PLN was granted to a new film by Barbara Sass-Zdort titled Pieśni miłosne (Love songs), a drama based on a true story of conflicts that took place in a closed monastery, produced by WDFIF with a planned budget of 4.8 million PLN.

    One of the most awaited features financed during this session is Sławomir Fabicki's Miłość (Love), a drama about a married couple whose dreams about parenthood are brutally distrupted by the woman being raped, produced by Anna Pachnicka Anagram Film (www.alejagowniarzy.pl) with a planned budget of 4 million PLN with 2 million of PFI funding.

    The next sessions of the Film Production Programme are planned for June 30, 2010, and December 1, 2010.