27/11/2017 - The new movies by Małgorzata Szumowska, Sławomir Fabicki and Ricky Rijneke are to receive PFI financial grants

Director Małgorzata Szumowska

Two sets of experts have weighed up the film projects submitted for the Polish Film Institute’s (PFI’s) third and final session of 2017. The first group, which decided on minority co-productions, was led by director and producer Alessandro Leone. It decided to support six projects – three fiction films and three documentaries – with a total amount of PLN 2,465,000 (approximately €578,000). The largest subsidy of €234,000 was granted to Thorsten Klein’s project Geniuses (Geniusze), which will be co-produced by Polish outfit Shipsboy. Ricky Rijneke’s The Hunter’s Son (with Poland’s Balapolis on board as a co-producer) received €117,000; Carlo Sironi’s Sole [+see also:
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film profile] got €82,000; Lea Glob’s Apolonia, Apolonia (co-producer: Staron Film) will be granted the amount of €60,000; Lauris and Raitis Abele’s Last Pagans of Europe (Ostatni poganie Europy), which is being co-produced by Arkana Studio Dorota Roszkowska, will be supported with €47,000; and a project by an international team comprising Magdalena Szymków, Marie Elisa Scheidt, Evdokia Moskwina, Stephan Komandarev and Linda Dombrovszky, Occupation 1968 (Okupacja 1968), with Silver Frame Stanisaław Zaborowski serving as the Polish co-producer, can count on a €37,000 subsidy. Additionally, the upcoming Paul Greengrass project, Jack Strong, received a letter of intent from the PFI. The special fund for supporting minority co-productions was set up in 2016.

The team of seven experts (including seasoned Polish directors Krzysztof Zanussi, Andrzej Jakimowski, Dorota Kędzierzawska and Janusz Zaorski) tasked with deliberating the grants for Polish full-length fiction films had a sum of PLN 10,520,00 (approximately €2.47 million) at their disposal. The project that was given the highest subsidy of €469,000 was Leszek Dawid’s third film, Broad Peak. Six movies were granted an amount of €234,000 each: Piotr Trzaskalski’s Find Friends, Dariusz Jabłoński’s Immigrants (Imigranci), Michał Rosa’s Józef Piłsudski – Station Independence (Józef Piłsudski – przystanek Niepodległość), Sławomir Fabicki’sFear (Lęk), Małgorzata Szumowska’s Masseur (Masażysta) and Robert Gliński’s Through a Glass (W zwierciadle). The PFI also supported veteran director Andrzej Barański and his film Proust of Krowodrzy (Proust z Krowodrzy) with the sum of €211,000, and second-time helmer Bartosz M Kowalski (Playground [+see also:
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interview: Bartosz M. Kowalski
film profile]), who will be directing Passage (Przejście). The value of the grant in his case is €192,000. Lastly, the institute will be supporting debutant Filip Dzierżawski and his project Reconciliation (Pojednanie) to the tune of €187,000.

The Polish Film Institute grants financial support to feature-length fiction films at three separate sessions each year.