14-11-2012

EMERGING PRODUCER: Slovakia’s Tomas Kaminsky

By
    The Gypsy Vote The Gypsy Vote

    BRATISLAVA: Slovak documentary producer Tomas Kaminsky tackled the controversial subject of minority issues in his first full-length film, The Gypsy Vote directed by Jaro Vojtek, while infusing it with liberal doses of the human comedy.

    The film, which he pitched at Ex Oriente (www.dokweb.net) in Jihlava, earned him a return trip to the Jihlava IDFF (www.dokument-festival.cz) as Slovakia’s first Emerging Producer.

    After spending 15 years working in the Slovak media and film industry, Kaminsky founded the production company Mandala Pictures (www.mandalapictures.eu), with a focus on documentary and art films, when, he told FNE, “Jaro Vojtek came to me and asked me to be his producer. I had been working in TV and also doing my own documentaries.” Those past connections have come in handy for finding money to produce full-length documentaries. Kaminsky blends public funds and private money to finance his productions. “It’s about relationships,” he said. “I’m mixing my experience with TV and event marketing.” When not wearing his film producer’s hat, he continues to work in other fields. “In Slovakia you have to have two lives: one is a love of documentary film, and the second is finding the money,” he told FNE.

    Kaminsky is now in postproduction with Stuck in the Middle (previous working title: Felvidek, The Land Behind) which will be a mixture of oral history, archival material, and animation. It, too, takes on the topic of minorities – this time Slovakia’s Hungarian minority. “My roots are mixed, so this is also a personal film,” Kaminsky said. The 150,000 EUR budget has secured 70,000 EUR from the Slovak Audiovisual Fund (www.avf.sk) for development and production, and Kaminsky will finance the remainder through private commercial sources.

    Production Contact:

    Mandala Pictures

    Marianska 18

    900 31 Stupava

    Slovakia

    Phone: +421 908 201 674

    Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.