Film Commission Poland showcases key locations to international audience

Funding for the trip was provided by the Polish Film Institute with assistance from Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission, Łódź Film Commission, Wroclaw Film Commission and Krakow Film Commission, all of whom are attending FOCUS in December.

Tomasz Dąbrowski, Head of Film Commission Poland explains: “we were aiming at inviting to Poland professionals who are collaborating with big and medium-sized film studios in the USA, but who are also involved in productions that can be adapted to Polish location and production conditions.”

Lori Balton, the former LMGI president and AMPAS member adds: “from the depths of the underground river in Lodz and the Wieliczka Salt Mines, to soaring above forests, farmland, castles and forts – Poland offers an amazingly diverse selection of unique locations. Add the acres of period industrial locations, factories repurposed as cutting edge hotels, streets with nineteenth-century apartment buildings. The sense of history and wonder around every corner was daunting.”

Poland’s presence on the locations market catapulted last year with the release of Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, which doubled areas of Wroclaw for Berlin. Similar success is expected with the release of True Crimes starring Jim Carrey, an international co-production shot in Krakow.

Poland is currently without a film incentive programme but there are 10 regional film funds available to domestic and co-production entities. The Polish Film Institute can also invest in the development of international co-productions, as long as the domestic contribution to the project amounts to no less than 20%.