Institutions and Companies

Producers and cinemas

Polish cinematography has been developing dynamically in recent years. More films are being made, and they are being watched by a growing number of viewers. About 100 companies deal with film production.

Most of the production companies were established in the last decade, and new ones are constantly being opened. These include such firms as Paisa, Gremi, Aurora, and Skopia Film. There is also Munk Studio, which handles production of works made by young filmmakers, and the recently formed branch of Dutch Zentropy Lars von Trier, led by Małgorzata Szumowska.

A wide range of services

The biggest production companies such as Akson Studio and Opus Film release four to six films annually. In recent years, many companies have focused on providing specialised services. There are companies focusing on co-operation with foreign entities (for instance Yeti Films), documentary films (Contra Studio, Eureka Media, Kalejdoskop), and popular cinema (Van Worden, MTL MaxFilm). Among the leading animation studios are Se-Ma-For and Studio Miniatur Filmowych. The traditional film studios still play an important role; Zebra, Tor, and Perspektywa are still among the most active producers. The leading production company on the market is The Documentary and Feature Films Studio (WFDiF) in Warsaw, which each year produces several feature films and numerous documentaries. Other leading companies include Apple Film Production, STI Studio Filmowe, Filmcontract, and ATM.

Cinema on TV

In recent years Polish Television has been an important film source. In 2007 it produced 24 films (10 feature films and 14 documentaries) and was a co-producer of five projects. Due to uncertainty over the future of public television, it is difficult to say what future contribution it will have in supporting national film production. Commercial television companies are also active producers, particularly Polsat and TVN. They focus on sitcoms and high-budget films aimed at mass audiences.

Hollywood attacks!

In Poland there are several important film distributors. Among them, a few are focused on spreading cinema with artistic values (Gutek Film, Kino Świat, and leading documentary cinema distributor Against Gravity).

However, the market is dominated by the representatives of Hollywood studios such as UIP, Forum Film (Buena Vista International), Imperial CinePix (20th Century Fox), and Warner Bros. In 2007 the “Film Polski” Foundation for the Promotion of Cinema was created, whose main task is to distribute Polish films and promotion abroad. Many independent distributors are also engaged in film production.

Defending small cinemas

There are more than 700 cinemas operating in Poland, the majority of which are small one-hall cinemas. But multiplexes reign; there are 67 of them and they function in nearly all medium-sized and big cities in Poland and they have the largest incomes from ticket sales. Small one-hall cinemas focus on promoting artistic works. They are members of, and are supported by, the Europa Cinemas network, and belong to the Network of Local and Study Cinemas supported by the Polish Film Institute. Small cinemas are expected to benefit substantially from the National Programme of Cinema Digitization.

Numerous festivals

Each year there are several dozen film festivals, large and small, and new ones are constantly being created. The most important are the Gdynia Film Festival, the biggest annual retrospective of Polish cinematography; the Warsaw Film Festival; the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Plus Camerimage in Łódź; the Kraków Film Festival, promoting mainly documentary films and animated films; the Era New Horizons International Film Festival in Wrocław; and Planete Doc Review, the biggest international retrospective of documentary films in Poland.

Mushrooming funds

The Polish Film Institute oversees the financing and promoting Polish films. However, the role of Regional Film Funds is increasing; they are popping up in Polish cities like mushrooms after a nourishing rain.

Among other important institutions of Polish cinematography, the National Archives should be mentioned. It contains one of the biggest collection of film tapes and archives in Europe. The Polish Filmmakers Association is the biggest organisation in Poland focusing on filmmakers, along with the National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers.

Translated by Monika Miziniak | Edited by Patricia Koza