The Wrocław branch of the Polish Filmmakers Association (SFP, www.sfp.org.pl) was constituted on April 8, 2010, and began operating on April 20. The new unit will be the third of SFP's locations, with headquarters in Warsaw and two active branches in Cracow and Łódź.
The head of the Wrocław unit is Polish set designer Rafał Waltenberger and the vice President is director Grażyna Popowicz. The SFP in Wrocław will include as members several film professionals of diverse job specializations including the director Sylwester Chęciński, set designer Tadeusz Kosarewicz, animation director Aniela Lubieniecka, master of special effects Janusz Król, set designer Barbara Komosińska and sound operator Zbigniew Mendlewski.
"The creation of the branch is a way to revive the film community and inspire several Wrocław filmmakers to take action. Wrocław is a city of great potential for Polish and foreign film production with its unique character and architectural richness," said Waltengerger.
The Polish Filmmakers Association is Poland's largest organization of film professionals. It unites 1,700 members working in the film industry and promotes Polish film domestically and abroad, supports talented young filmmakers, and produces debut films. The SFP cooperates closely with the Polish Film Institute (www.pisf.pl) as well as both national and international significant institutions of the film industry. Established in 1966, it has been headed by some of the most prominent Polish filmmakers such as Andrzej Wajda, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, and Janusz Majewski. The current President Jacek Bromski has been President of the Association since 1996.
The President of the Wrocław branch of SFP has big plans for the new unit that include a tribute the famous Wrocław filmmakers Stanisław Lenartowicz, Sylwester Chęcinski and Tadeusz Kosarewicz, a retrospective of movies realized in the Wrocław Feature Film Production Company (Wywtórnia Filmów Fabularnych WFF, www.4film.pl ) and a film poster competition. The Wrocław unit will also closely co-operate with other institutions active in the region, especially with Odra-Film (www.odra-film.wroc.pl) WFF, which will now become the meeting place of the Association in Wrocław.
