Polish Cinema today - Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej

Polish Cinema today
the year 2005 saw the introduction of the
Cinematography act in Poland, and the launch of the Polish
Film institute. The new film law determines the extent
of State involvement in film production and other areas
of the industry.
Starting in 2006, this resulted in a rapid increase
in the number of films being produced in Poland,
and in inducing the interest of foreign filmmakers in
co-productions and film services in Poland. The Polish Film
Institute actively promotes Polish cinema on the international
level. A foreign film producer, festival manager or
international project coordinator looking for Polish partners
should turn to the Polish Film Institute for financial
consulting and assistance in contacting interested parties.
Funding
the Polish Film institute has an annual budget of over
36 million eur (expected revenue as of october 10, 2009),
partially funded by a 1.5% levy imposed on tv, cinema
and cable tv operators. the Polish Film institute grants funding
not only for film production, but also other fields of the industry:
film promotion, dissemination of film culture, professional
training, and film distribution. in 2007, the Polish Film institute
granted over 15 million eur for film production alone. in 2008
this quota was increased to almost 18 million eur. the 2010
budget of the Polish Film institute has 22 million eur allocated
to film production. in most cases, the Polish Film institute
grants funding up to 50% of the total production budget.
Thanks to the efforts of the Polish Film Institute,
the year 2007 brought the launch of regional film funds.
FILM PRODUCTION GUIDE POLAND 2010
By the end of 2008, eight such projects had already been
introduced and others were in preparation. Most regional
film funds take the form of a competition that selects projects
for funding. A basic condition for entering such a competition
is creating a link between the city or region and the topic
of the film, place of shooting or participation of local
residents and businesses.
Poland participates in the two foremost European
programmes for supporting the audiovisual industry
– eurimages and the European Union’s media 2007
programme. Warsaw is home to Media Desk Poland,
which assists producers in completing forms and settling
the accounts for projects supported by MEDIA.
One of the key investors in film is Polish television
(Telewizja Polska SA). It is to date the largest film producer
in Poland. However, commercial TV channels, including
Canal+, TVN and occasionally Polsat and HBO Polska also
participate in film production.
A foreign producer seeking Polish production partners
has a wide range of possibilities. There are a number
of businesses specializing in film production services.
Most of them focus on a particular field – be it feature,
documentary or animation production. Although the majority
of players in the film industry consists of private businesses,
among them most production, distribution and exhibition
companies, there is also a number of state-owned film
establishments, a unique element of the structure
of the Polish film industry. These regional organizations,
currently undergoing ownership transformation, include
some of Poland’s largest film studios, small-scale animation
studios and film production units 1 . However the ownership
structure is not at all a key factor, as all Polish private
and public entities are eligible for public funding.
1. In Polish terminology film production companies are often referred to as Studios
(Polish: Studio filmowe); film studios are commonly known under the term Wytwórnia.
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Film industry