We interview Agnieszka Odorowicz the General Director of the Polish Film Institute who has been at the helm of the institute since its beginning and shaped the policies that have made the institute so successful. We also will be bringing you some of the messages from film professionals around the world who have written to congratulate the institute.
In the first article of our anniversary series we look at the impact that the Polish Film Institute has had on the success of Polish film in both the domestic market and internationally.
Founded in 2005 it is not an overstatement to say that the Polish Film Institute (PISF) has totally transformed the Polish film industry since it was established ten years ago. While Poland boasts a long and proud cinematic history with internationally acclaimed masters like Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Kieslowski by the early 2000s film production had dropped to 20 or 25 feature films a year and the box office share for Polish film was negligible.
It was clear to Polish film professionals that the restructuring of the industry and a new system of support was necessary. After a long battle Polish filmmakers succeeded in gaining approval for the new Cinematography Bill that established the Polish Film Institute and changed the structure of the Polish film industry.
Today Poland has one of the most successful film industries in Europe with an average production of around 40 feature films annually as well as documentaries and animation, a 30% average market share for domestic features and a solid presence internationally with Polish films like the recent hit Ida directed by Paweł Pawlikowski and produced by Opus Film winning numerous festival prizes as well as scoring international sales.
In 2013 Poland produced 42 feature films and a total of 10 films were international coproductions with Germany, France and the Czech Republic as the most frequent coproduction partners. Polish producers with support from the Polish Film Institute have become an active partners in minority co-productions and serious players in major European film productions including participation in the last two films of Roman Polanski. PISF currently is involved in supporting around 40 international co-productions annually.
Underpinning this success story is the Polish Film Institute which has implemented policies in funding and promotion of Polish film both domestically and abroad that have supported the renaissance of Polish film. Over the past 10 years most of the films produced in Poland were financially supported by the Polish Film Institute with a total of 70% of its yearly budget going to support film production.
A major emphasis on young filmmakers and first films has resulted in the emergence of a new generation of talented young Polish directors. The institute also supports scriptwriting, development, international promotion of Polish film, education and cinema modernization.
From the beginning the goal of PISF was not just to support making more films but to make more films that would attract more audiences to the cinema on a regular basis.
The impact at the Polish box office has been dramatic with the number of viewers choosing to see Polish films increasing tenfold over the past 10 years since the institute began its work. Ten years ago the total admissions for Polish films was a mere 700,000 while today admissions for Polish films in 2013 were over 7m.
The year 2007 was a watershed year for the Polish cinema industry as the work of the institute began to show its first results. For the first time there were five Polish titles in the top ten led by Andrzej Wajda's Katyń racking up 2.7m audience. The year 2011 saw a record breaking 11.6m admissions for Polish films at the box office and a market share of over 30%. In 2013 out of 312 film screened in Polish cinemas, 39 where Polish titles. The total admissions for 2013 was 36.3m with 7.2 m choosing locally made films. The leader of the year was Traffic Department by Wojciech Smazowski produced by Film It with 1.015m audience closely followed by Wałęsa. A Man of Hope by Andrzej Wajda produced by Akson Studio that was seen by 956 000 viewers.
Another major way the Polish Film Institute has had an impact on the Polish domestic market is through its support for the transition to digitalisation of the exhibition sector. PISF has supported the digitalization of Polish cinemas and since 2011 a total of 99 cinemas in 88 cities have been digitalised. Overall PISF has spent more than 5.5m EUR on the refurbishment and modernization of cinemas throughout Poland including purchases of new equipment and the upgrading of facilities.
In the international sphere Polish films have racked up impressive results at international festivals as well as international sales over the past few years screening regularly in Berlin, Cannes and other international festivals. The Polish Film Institute which supports approximately 300 films at 200 international festivals annually not only promotes the films but also helps Polish producers with strategy and building relations with sales agents and festival programmers. Izabela Kiszka-Hoflik head of international relations is one of the team of PISF professionals who has been working since the beginning to see that Polish film is visible and reaches audiences internationally.
Andrzej Wajda’s Wałęsa and Agnieszka Holland’s In Darkness which were supported by PISF both won numerous awards on the international festival circuit and Jerzy Skolimowski’s Essential Killing was awarded in Venice. But PISF has also carried out a policy of supporting film debuts and a young generation of Polish directors has begun to make its mark on the international festival circuit. Successful debuts have included Suicide Room directed by Janek Komasa and produced by Studio Filmowe KADR which screened in Berlin and reached an impressive 800,000 cinema admissions in Poland. The Mole directed by Rafael Lewandowski and produced by Metro Films received the Best Actor Award during the 35th Montreal World FF. Several debuts received high critical praise including Fear Of Flying directed by Bartosz Konopka and produced by Munk Studios, The Courage directed by Greg Zgliński and produced by Opus Film and My Name Is Ki, a drama from Leszek Dawid produced by Skorpion Arte, that screened in the Venice.
The biggest successes in international sales in 2013 were: Ida directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, sold to over 30 countries including US, Canada and Israel, the sales agent was Fandango Portobello; Wałęsa represented by Films Boutique which also surpassed the 30 country mark with distribution in France, Canada, US, Norway and Brazil; and Andrzej Jakimowski’s Imagine, represented by Beta Cinema, which was sold to over 20 countries including Russia, Canada, the US and Germany.
As the Polish Film Institute prepares to celebrate its 10th year of activity the Polish film industry has much to celebrate. In just 10 short years PISF has managed to establish the foundations for an industry that is both commercially successful at home and respected artistically abroad.
