Katowice is the home the first Polish RFF - the Silesian Film Fund created in 2008. The main idea behind the event, which is under the patronage of the European Parliament, is to promote the activities of Regional Film Funds and the Silesian region as an attractive location for film production. Poland currently has 11 RFF's created thanks to the initiative of the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl).

The program of the festival includes screenings of films produced with the financial support of several European RFF's. They will be presented in three competition sections (feature film, documentary, animation ) as well as non-competitve categories. The first edition will celebrate the Belgian Wallimage Film Fund with a special retrospective of films created with the support of this unit. The local filmmakers from Silesia will also have a special place in the program with the focus on the works by Andrzej Fidyk.

The festival will host industry meetings for European film proffesionals and a special conference titled "Regional Film Funds in Europe." During the meeting representatives of 10 European and Polish RFF's will showcase their institutions and talk about the possibilities of international co-operation with the help of the funds. The conference will also host the formal inauguration of the Silesia Film Commission. One of the speakers at the conference will be Cass Warner, a granddaughter of the Warner Brothers, and director, producer and creator of the Warner Sisters Company.

Polish Regional Film Funds:

Silesia Film Fund - www.silesiafilm.com.pl

Mazovian Film Fund - www.mff.mazovia.pl

Gdańsk Film Fund - www.gdansk.pl

Gdynia Film Fund - www.centrumkulturygdynia.org

Krakow Film Commission - www.film-commission.pl

Lublin Film Fund - www.film.lublin.eu

Łódź Film Commission - www.lodzfilmcommission.pl

Poznań Film Fund - www.estrada.poznan.pl

Lower Silesia Film Fund - www.odra-film.wroc.pl

Pomerania Film Fund - www.pomeraniafilm.pl