Warsaw Film Foundation
May 21, 2008
Since 1995 the Warsaw Film Foundation has organized the Warsaw International Film Festival, held under the honorary patronage of the Mayor of Warsaw and the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.
Other areas of our activity include:
European Film Awards 2006
The Warsaw Film Foundation was the main Polish partner of the European Film Academy in organizing the European Film Awards ceremony which was held in Warsaw on 2 December 2006.
Regional co-operation
WIFF initiated and co-founded CentEast - The Alliance of Central and Eastern European Film Festivals, which is a platform for collaboration with the sixteen key film festivals in the region. We exchange information about new, interesting films - it is thanks to this that WIFF presents the latest and most attractive films from Russia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and other nearby countries. With regard to the Polish films we recommend, we do our best to make sure they find their way primarily to the principal festivals in a given country and not, as is often the case, to events for expatriate Poles or screenings at Polish community centres.
CentEast Market Warsaw and the Warsaw Screenings
We have been organizing the Warsaw Screenings since 2000, presenting the latest Polish films with English subtitles to programmers working for leading international film festivals. From their first edition, the Screenings have had an excellent reception among foreign professionals, while the films presented at the Screenings have made their way to the leading international film festivals (Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto, Pusan, Tokyo, Karlovy Vary). Since 2004 there has also been an extra summer edition of the Screenings in June/July, targeted at programmers of festivals which take place in late summer and early autumn.
Since 2005 the Screenings have been part of CentEast Market Warsaw, an event for producers, distributors, film sales agents, TV buyers, representatives of film funds and institutes as well as directors and programmers of leading festivals who are interested in Polish and Eastern European productions.
Promotion of Polish films abroad
Promoting Polish films abroad, something we have been doing for years, is a natural continuation of the Warsaw Screenings. We have contributed to the international success of many films, including:
- CROWS (Wrony) by Dorota Kedzierzawska
- PLAYING FROM THE PLATE and other films by Jan Jakub Kolski
- PHOTOGRAPHER (Fotoamator) by Dariusz Jabłonski
- HI, TERESKA (Czesc, Tereska) by Robert Glinski
- HAPPY MAN (Szczesliwy czlowiek) and STRANGER (Ono) by Małgorzata Szumowska
- EDDIE (Edi) and MASTER (Mistrz) by Piotr Trzaskalski
- THE WEDDING (Wesele) by Wojtek Smarzowski
- SYMMETRY (Symetria) by Konrad Niewolski
- THE COLLECTOR (Komornik) by Feliks Falk
- RETRIEVAL (Z odzysku) by Slawomir Fabicki
- TRICKS (Sztuczki) by Andrzej Jakimowski.
We advise young Polish filmmakers on various issues relevant to their projects - from scripts to festival policy.
Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Ewa Wieckowska-Mietkiewicz
president
Stefan Laudyn
director
Warsaw Film Foundation
P.O. Box 816
PL 00-950 Warsaw 1
kontakty@wff.pl
