Filmförderungsanstalt is the new partner of the Polish-German Film Fund

On 9 December 2016, representatives of the institutions participating in the Polish-German Film Fund: Magdalena Sroka, head of the Polish Film Institute; Peter Dinges, head of Filmförderungsanstalt; Kirsten Niehuus, head of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, and Claas Danielsen, head of Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung, signed an agreement on cooperation within the framework of the Polish-German Film Fund, which added the FFA Federal Film Fund  (Filmförderungsanstalt) as a new partner of this initiative.

Magdalena Sroka, head of the Polish Film Institute, announced that the Polish financial contribution to the Polish-German Film Fund will be increased to 150,000 euros. With FFA as the new partner, the annual budget of the Polish-German Film Fund will increase from 300,000 euros to 500,000 euros.

As stated by Magdalena Sroka, head of the Polish Film Institute, Kirsten Niehuus, head of Medienboard, and Claas Danielsen, head of MDM: “Germany and Poland are two nations with a long and versatile film tradition; films made today in both countries, such as Paweł Pawlikowski’s Ida and Maren Ade’s Toni Erdman, gain acclaim around the world. After eleven years of supporting script development, Polish-German co-productions are now able to seek support also for the production stage. FFA’s participation in the Polish-German Film Fund means that our cooperation will be fostered on the national level by the German side as well as the Polish side.”

“With the FFA as a new partner, the German-Polish Film Fund, as of now, will be flanked by the national film funding institutions of both countries. This will give the transnational film fund a further punch! We look forward to new perspectives alongside the existing partners, whose successful funding has proved for over more than ten years a strong symbol of the bonds between the filming industries of both of our countries,” says Peter Dinges, head of Filmförderungsanstalt.

According to Jarosław Sellin, Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage, further growth of the Polish film industry is one of the key priorities of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. “I am glad to see Filmförderungsanstalt join the Polish-German Film Fund, as this will provide a significant source of financing for film producers making international coproductions. The Polish-German Film Fund is a good example of cooperation between our countries in the field of culture,” says Sellin.

Dietmar Woidke, Minister President of Brandenburg and coordinator of the Federal Government for Polish-German cross-border and regional cooperation, says that the FFA joining the Polish-German Film Fund is “a model example of national responsibility in terms of cooperation in the field of culture and filmmaking. The film medium is ideal for fostering mutual understanding. That’s why I am very glad  that with the accession of Filmförderungsanstalt the number of supported projects will increase, thus fostering better understanding by people on both sides of the Oder and Neisse rivers.”

The agreement on cooperation within the framework of the Polish-German Film Fund was signed on 9 December 2016 at the Wrocław 2016 European Capital of Culture Information Point, on the day preceding the awards ceremony of the 29th European Film Awards.

The Polish-German Film Fund

The Polish-German Film Fund was launched in 2015 and replaced the Polish-German Co-Development Fund, which had been running since 2005 and focused on supporting collaborative film projects. It was in 2015 that the heads of the cooperating organisations decided to increase the fund’s budget and to broaden the scope of the Fund to include support for film production. Within the framework of the Polish-German Film Fund, a film producer can apply for financing development and production low-budget feature films, films by first-time directors, and films with an innovative approach to storytelling.

Over the years, the Polish-German Film Fund (formerly the Polish-German Co-Development Fund) has financed 33 projects, including films by such acclaimed directors as Agnieszka Holland (Pokot/Game Count), Robert Schwentke (Der Hauptmann), Marie Nöelle (Marie Curie), Matthias Luthardt (The Fox), and Robert Gliński (W zwierciadle). The film fund is also popular among young filmmakers, some of whom have received financing for their projects, including Kuba Czekaj (Nix), Julian Pörksen (Whatever Happens Next), Agnieszka Zwiefka (Scars), Marta Minorowicz (Zud), and Mariko Saga (Viet Wander House).

Further details about the Polish-German Film Fund are available from Robert Baliński of the Polish Film Institute: robert.balinski@pisf.pl, tel. (+48 22) 42 10 387, +48 695 363 398.