03-06-2008

A new 30 Minutes project starts shooting in Warsaw

By Katarzyna Grynienko
    Following the well-received Cannes screening of the series of short films from the "30 Minutes" project in the Short Film Corner section, the next film of the series has gone into production. On May 31, Barbara Bialowas' My New Way began shooting on location in Warsaw.

    The movie revolves around an engagement party that becomes an occasion for two generations of Poles to meet and talk. A tragicomic exchange of views shows the differences between the 30year-olds and their parents, who still concern themselves with the past communist regime.

    "30 Minutes" is a part of a larger project called the Young Creators Programme organized by the Polish Filmmakers Association SFP (www.sfp.org.pl), PFI (www.pisf.pl) and the Ministry of Culture. Their goal is to provide young promising filmmakers the opportunity to work with professionals in creating their first films.

    "Each movie from the program is supervised by an experienced crew and gets a budget of PLN130,000 (€38,562.17)", Cecylia Zuk, the SFP's public relations specialist told FNE. "The shoot will start on the 31th of May and end on the 10th of June. We are not set on the end of production, but it usually takes about a year in case of this program," she adds.

    The project does not limit the number of films, but usually makes around 10 films each year, dependent upon the programme budget, with plans to increase the number in future. This year's project is co-ordinated by the Andrzej Munk Studio, The Young and Film, that operates as part of the Polish Filmmmakers Association. It exclusively produces debut film in partnership with the Polish Film Insititute, the Ministry of Culture, and public television, according to the Polish Filmmakers Association.

    Movies chosen for "30 Minutes" were shown at several festivals and were distributed by Kino Swiat (www.kinoswiat.pl) on a DVD titled "Polish debuts 2006" along with other interesting new features and documentaries. The success of the first edition encouraged Kino Swiat to work with SFP on a second edition for the year 2007 which will premiere during the upcoming Cracow Film Festival and will should be available at the Polish stand at every major film event this year.