22-11-2007

First projects from Polish Script Laboratory picked up for production

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    A project organised by the Polish Filmmakers Association to help young scriptwriters and directors make their debuts in the film industry, Script Laboratory, is beginning to bear fruit. System, written and directed by Izabela Szylko, will wind up production on Jan. 17 and has been picked up by Canal+, while My First Job, written by Radka Franczak and directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska, is being seriously considered by Swiss production company Ventura Film.

    Script Laboratory was launched in 2005 by SFP to help new talent get a foothold in the national market. One of the strongest stories it has produced so far is System, whose plot centers on an elderly lady who develops an elaborate gambling scheme and a secret plan on how to spend the winnings.

    Shooting ended Sept. 19 and the budget could reach 1.9 million zloty (516,800 euros) or even more, the young director said in an interview with FNE. The film is being produced by Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych (WFDiF) with 50% provided by the Polish Film Institute, the main state funding body for the film industry.

    "We just received the news that Canal+ bought the rights," Szylko told FNE.

    My First Job, which was written during the second Script Laboratory workshop, is being seriously considered by the Swiss production company Ventura Film.

    "We are waiting for their decision, but they seem really interested in the project," said Anna Wydra, the producer, from the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing which is overseeing the project.

    "Our plan is to collect as many foreign co-producers as possible, so the movie could be seen worldwide, not only in Poland," she told FNE.

    The beneficiaries of Script Laboratory have no doubt that the project not only helped them get the industry interested but also improved their abilities.

    "It was a valuable experience for a debutante scriptwriter like me," said Radka Franczak. "The workshop helped me to pass from a starting idea, written on a piece of paper, to the full version of the script. It also prepared us for what was coming during work on the movie. They helped us to get to know the movie industry better - and to promote our project."