Polish Party Brings Out Top Industry Talents in Cannes

Radoslaw ?migulski(left), general director of the Polish Film Institute, hosted Friday’s Polish Party at Plage du Goéland in Cannes, where the guests included Marche du Film director Jér?me Paillard.

“It was a pleasure to host great filmmakers and film industry representatives at the Polish Party in Cannes, which was one of the many events promoting the talents, locations and the funding possibilities in Poland, including the 30% cash rebate,” said the PFI’s Smigulski.

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Among those in attendance were Berlinale artistic director Carlo Chatrian, Locarno Film Festival programming head Mark Peranson, and Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival program coordinator Anna Purkrabkova, programmer Martin Horyna, and programmer Lenka Tyrpakova.

“There is a lot of interest in Polish cinema right now,” said producer Klaudia Smieja of Madants, gesturing around the packed terrace where guests huddled, danced and downed Polish vodka to stay warm on a cold, soggy night.

Smieja, who produced Agnieszka Holland’s Berlinale player “Mr. Jones” and Claire Denis’ Toronto selection “High Life,” has a number of projects at the Marché du Film this year, including “Other People,” the feature debut of director Aleksandra Terpinska, which Madants is co-producing with Paris-based Alcatraz Films (Palme d’Or winner “Blue is the Warmest Color”).

“People are asking about this cash rebate system, how it works,” she said. “They are asking because they are hungry to hear about successful projects that have delivered to market using the cash rebate.”

Krzysztof Solek of Film Poland, who’s wrapping production in Ukraine on the spy thriller “Legacy of Lies,” said there’s been a noticeable shift this year. “For the past eight years I’ve been coming here, before the cash rebate, the first question is, ‘What is the incentive structure?’ And that was almost always the end of the conversation,” he said. “Now, when you say 30%, you can have a conversation.”

He added: “Before I had to knock on doors and call everyone. And now they’re calling me.”

From left, Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival program coordinator Anna Purkrabkova, programmer Martin Horyna, and programmer Lenka Tyrpakova, along with actor Petr Lintiner and actor-producer Krystof Mucha.

Actress Kashmira Shah (left), with Polish Film Institute general director Radoslaw ?migulski.

From left: director Olga Chajdas, producer Stanis?aw Dziedzic (Film Produkcja), actress-producer Lena Gora, and ?migulski.

From left: cinematographer Wojciech Staroń, producer Ma?gorzata Staroń (Staron-Film), producer Anna B?awut-Mazurkiewicz (Aura Films), Polish Film Institute head of international relations Robert Baliński and ?migulski.

Actress-director Alessandra Carrillo (left), with Stefan Laudyn, director of the Warsaw Film Festival.

From left: Berlinale artistic director Carlo Chatrian, ?migulski, and Locarno Film Festival programming head Mark Peranson.

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