MAGDALENA SROKA APPOINTED NEW GENERAL DIRECTOR OF THE POLISH FILM INSTITUTE

On Thursday, August 6, Magdalena Sroka, currently serving as deputy mayor of Krakow for culture and city promotion, was officially appointed General Director of the Polish Film Institute by Małgorzata Omilanowska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage. Magdalena Sroka will take office on October 3, 2015.

Magdalena Sroka will replace Agnieszka Odorowicz at the helm of the Polish Film Institute. Agnieszka Odorowicz’s second and final five-year term in office ends on October 2. The competition for the position of the new General Director of the Polish Film Institute was announced by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in late April. The selection committee’s eleven members were Andrzej Fidyk, Roman Gutek, Agnieszka Holland, Katarzyna Janowska, Robert Kijak, Borys Lankosz, Olgierd Łukaszewicz, Juliusz Machulski, Jakub Szurmiej, Andrzej Wajda, and Krzysztof Zanussi.
The selection committee assessed the candidates’ qualifications, taking into consideration their theoretical background, including their educational profile, knowledge and experience in the film industry, familiarity with public finances, administration and legal aspects of the film industry, foreign language skills, familiarity with European models of supporting film production and questions of international cooperation in the film industry, as well as their presented strategy for the development of the Polish Film Institute.

The selection committee recommended Magdalena Sroka for the position of the new General Director of the Polish Film Institute. After assessing the documents presented by the selection committee, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage officially appointed Magdalena Sroka to the position.

Cultural Event Manager and Producer

Magdalena Sroka graduated from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow in Polish Philology, specializing in theatre studies. She is a cultural event manager, producer and coordinator of international projects, and an expert in the field of culture and the arts. From 1998 to 2003, she worked for the Krakow 2000 Festival Office, where she was responsible for cultural projects organized in Krakow as European Capital of Culture.

She co-authored the first paper on strategy for the promotion of Krakow in the years 2003 to 2007. She cooperated with the EXPO 2005 programming office. She also established the Krakow Film Commission and the Regional Film Fund in Krakow, and served as an expert for the Congress of Polish Culture (Kongres Kultury Polskiej). From 2008 through 2010, Magdalena Sroka served as director of the Krakow Festival Office, organizing cultural events in Krakow.

Source: mkidn.gov.pl/pages/posts/magdalena-sroka-nowym-dyrektorem-pisf-5682.php.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun