Selling Points: How to Promote the Polish Film Abroad?
The Oscar victory of “Ida” galvanised Polish
filmmaking community and only proved that indeed sky is the limit as far
as the promotion of Polish cinema abroad and its global success are
concerned. At the same time, it put a question mark, especially among
young producers and sales agents, over which strategy in the foreign
promotion of Polish film may be most effective. Attempting to answer
this question, the Gdynia Film Festival prepared the “Selling Points”
panel in partnership with the Creative Europe Desk Poland. The meeting
aims at discussing how to position and talk about Polish cinema and
adjust the strategy to a specific project so that the film made in the
country on the Vistula River would reach all the latitudes and be widely
acclaimed by the audience and critics.
We will hear
about the experience and observations on the condition of the Polish
cinematography and its potential on the foreign market from Izabela
Kiszka-Hoflik (Polish Film Institute), Anna Wydra (Otter Films), Marcin
Pieńkowski (PR Storyteller Agency), Agata Szymańska (Balapolis) and
Katarzyna Siniarska (New Europe Film Sales). The meeting will be held by
Joanna Szymańska from SHIPsBOY.
The
discussion panel is an open event, however, due to the limited number
of seats available, we kindly ask for the sending the confirmation of
participation via e-mail to the following address: info@kreatywna-europa.eu.
In the message title, please enter “Selling Points: How to Promote the
Polish Film Abroad?” and in the message itself, the name and surname of
the given person.
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IZABELA KISZKA-HOFLIK, Polish Film Institute
Graduate
of the Adam Mickiewicz University and the Warsaw School of Economics
studies for culture managers. 2001-2004: the spokesperson for the
Kazimierz “Summer of Films” Festival. In 2000-2005, she worked as the
lead editor of series and feature-length films in Agencja Filmowa TVP.
During that time, she was the initiator of, among others, “Festiwal Kina
Niezależnego w Dwójce” and an assistant of the Direction of the Feature
Films Festival in Gdynia. In 2005, she joined the team of the just
founded Polish Film Institute, from the very beginning, the
international cooperation department; in 2010, she became the head of
the department and in 2012, the Polish Film Institute Director’s
Representative for International Cooperation. She works on the
promotional strategy of the Polish cinema on international markets; the
representative of the Polish Film Institute in the European Film
Promotion; a member of the European Film Academy.
MARCIN PIEŃKOWSKI, PR Storyteller Agency
Film
expert, cinema historian, graduate of the University of Lodz and the
London School of Public Relations. In 2011-2015, the press spokesperson
and PR and marketing director of the T-Mobile New Horizons International
Film Festival and the American Film Festival. The founder of the
Storyteller company dealing with the promotion of the Polish cinema in
the country and abroad.
AGATA SZYMAŃSKA, Balapolis
Graduate
of the Film and Television Production Organization of the Krzysztof
Kieślowski Radio and Television Department of the University of Silesia
in Katowice. Independent producer specialising in the production of
non-commercial, authorship, artistic feature projects (“It Looks Pretty
from a Distance”, “Parasite” directed by Anka and Wilhelm Sasnals).
Together with Magdalena Kamińska, she founded the Balapolis company
responsible for the creation of the “Walser” film directed by Zbigniew
Libera as well as “Baby Bump” by Kuba Czekaj, financed within the
Biennale College – Cinema programme and thereby premiered at the
International Film Festival in Venice. Currently, she prepares the most
recent film by Adrian Panek entitled “The Wolf Man”.
KATARZYNA SINIARSKA, New Europe Film Sales
Head
of Sales in New Europe Film Sales; producer in CoLab Pictures. Graduate
of the University of Warsaw Interdisciplinary Individual Humanities and
Social Studies (2008) and EAVE production courses as well as the Wajda
School. Since January 2013, engaged in New Europe Film Sales, the only
professional company in Poland specialising in the sales of feature and
short length films with significant success in both fields, among
others, a nomination and five short lists for the Oscars in the short
film category. The company’s catalogue includes, among others, “Doll” by
Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze, as well as this year’s winner
of Un Certain Regard section in Cannes “Rams” (“Hrutar”). The short film
catalogue includes the films by, among others, Ruben Östlund, Tomasz
Bagiński oraz Magnus Von Horn.
ANNA WYDRA, Otter Films
Producer
and production manager of numerous awarded films, both documentary and
feature, among others, “Rabbit à la Berlin” by Bartek Konopka, “Domino
Effect” directed by Piotr Rosołowski and Elwira Niewiera, “Deep Love” by
Jan P. Matuszyński and “All That I Love” directed by Jacek Borcuch.
Oscar-nominee and the prizewinner of the Bronisław Chromy statue for the
best producer during the Cracow Film Festival of 2009. Nominee for the
Polish Film Institute award in the Promotion Abroad category. A member
of the European Film Academy, Polish Film Academy and the 1,2 Film
Association. A participant of the Discovery Campus Masterschool
workshops, Ex Oriente, EKRAN+, PIXEL Lab. In 2011, she completed
prestigious workshops for producers: EAVE. In 2006-2009, the production
department manager, and in 2010-2015, a lecturer of the Creative
Producers Programme in the Wajda School. She manages the Otter Films
production company.
JOANNA SZYMAŃSKA, SHIPsBOY
Producer
and executive producer. A co-owner of the SHIPsBOY production company, a
graduate of Berlinale Talent Campus (2011) and a participant of EAVE
Producers Workshop (2015). She graduated from film studies at the
Jagiellonian University and currently, she prepares for the master
thesis defence in law. She has co-operated with such creators as:
Andrzej Wajda, Wojciech Marczewski, Marcel Łoziński, Adam Sikora. She
was the executive producer of feature films directed by Nora McGettigan
(“Sanctuary”) and Wilhelm Sasnal (“Opad”). She managed the Wajda Studio
Production Department for three years – making several short length
feature and documentary films. As the production co-ordinator, she
implemented two editions of the international, educational EKRAN+
programme. In 2014, she received the Award for the Best Short and
Feature Films Producer at the 54th Cracow Film Festival for
the film “Milky Brother” (dir. Vahram Mkhitaryan). Apart from the
production activity, Joanna is also engaged in the activity supporting
the film industry in Poland – she belongs to the Polish Filmmakers
Association and is the head of the Young Producers Section co-founded by
herself while joining the National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers.
She belongs to the European Film Academy.
GDYNIA FILM CENTRE, MORSKIE OKO SCREENING ROOM, THURSDAY, 17TH SEPTEMBER 2015, 1-2 PM
