End for the Polish Media Desk
After three years, the Polish Media Desk is shutting down. The Polish branch of the European institution, designed to inform and advise film professionals on funding (esp. MEDIA), is operating for the last time today.
The press release available on the website of the Polish Media Desk is brief and does not disclose the reasons for this shutdown. Even the staff members are confused: “The decision to shut down the office was probably caused by the conflicts aroused by the choice of a new president in the beginning of the year, but why didn't anybody try to solve that problem? Why wasn't there a call for a new president? That is something we simply cannot understand,” Anna Szatkowska (Polish Media Desk) told Cineuropa.
The definitive decision to shut down was taken on the 28th of April 2005, after the negotiations between the Commission and the National Council of Polish TV and Radio failed. The European Commission deemed that the position of the National Council was not compatible with the terms of the contract. It is not at all certain that the Media Desk will be able to re-open in 2006, since the Polish office needs the financial support of another institution besides the European Commission. However, this incident will not compromise the good relationship between the European Commission and the Polish government in terms of cultural policy. In agreement with Mr. Waldemar Dabrowski, Polish Minister of Culture, the Commission, represented by Mrs Viviane Reding, is studying the possibility of a partnership with other Polish film professionals' societies.
In the meantime, Polish professionals can ask technical assistance to an expert of the MEDIA Programme: M. Jean-charles FREYER, tel: +32 2 743 22 37, email: jeancharles.freyer@d-and-s.com
(Translated from French)
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