First edition of Warsaw Co-Production Forum unveils projects

Feature projects from Poland, Lithuania and Czech Republic are among 15 projects selected for the first edition of a new co-production event at the Warsaw Industry Days (October 15-17) which are part of the Warsaw International Film Festival’s reboot under new programming director Bartek Pulcyn.

The Warsaw Co-Production Forum will be divided into two sections with the pitching of 10 projects in development on October 15, followed a day later by a closed session of the screening of footage from five projects in production or post-production.

It will take place at Warsaw’s Museum of Modern Art. 

The line-up of projects being presented to an audience of Polish and international professionals include August by Belarussian writer-director Nella Agrenich, focusing on how a young family’s life is turned upside down following the protests of August 2020 against the fraudulent presidential elections.

Czech-Polish husband and wife team Vojtech Novotný and Anna Wowra will pitch the road movie To Move Mountains based on their real-life experiences when Wowra was battling leukaemia.

In addition, Ljubljana-based Blade Production will be looking for co-producers for Slovenian filmmaker Vida Breze’s debut The Vultures, following seven elite yet dysfunctional lawyers stranded at the height of winter in an isolated mountain cabin and discovering that this time their team-building is not a reward, but punishment for their misbehaviour.

Meanwhile, the works in progress showcase will include Slovakian director Martin Gonda’s debut feature Flood which had been pitched at project markets in Cottbus, Karlovy Vary, Les Arcs and Bratislava, among others.

The Slovakia-Czech Republic -Poland-Belgium co-production is set to be the first film to be shot in the Ruthenian minority’s language from eastern Slovakia and centres on a teenage girl’s decision to continue her father’s struggle against the authorities’ construction in the 1980s of a water reservoir that is set to flood their home village.

Footage will also be shown of Lithuanian Tomas Vengris’ latest feature Barracuda (previously known as Bijuterie), based on the true story of Loreta Gedvilaité and set in the dark world of the Lithuanian mafia at the beginning of 1990s and in present-day Italy.

Also to be showcased is Czech director Simon Holý’s comedy Chica Checa, which follows his “women’s trilogy” consisting of his debut Mirrors in the Dark, And Then There Was Love and Hello Welcome.

Talks programme

The Co-Production Forum will run alongside the Warsaw Industry Talks programme of panels and lectures addressing issues such as the process of script development, the concept of a “wave” to promote the international visibility of a nation’s cinema, prospects for greater cooperation between the Polish and Ukrainian film industries, opportunities for further co-production between Poland and the Arabian peninsula and collaboration between Netflix and producers from Central and Eastern Europe.

Olsberg SPI will also unveil the findings of its Incentives Analysis and Recommendations Study’, commissioned by the Producers Guild of Poland (PGP) with the Polish Filmmakers Association (SFP), The Polish Producers Alliance (KIPA), Netflix and TVN Warner Bros. Discovery.

PGP president Joanna Szymańska, who is also general director of Warsaw Film Festival, will chair a discussion on the report with Netflix’s director, studio affairs EMEA Tomasz Dabrowski and producers from Lava Films, Watchout Studio and Rozbrat Films.

Warsaw Co-Production Forum projects:

In Development

Aliens in Tirol (Hungary)
Dir: Nikol Cibulya
Prod co: oyrider

August (Poland)
Dir:  Nella Agrenich
Prod co: ZPR Media

Blue Helmet (Slovakia)
Dir: Palo Korec
Prod co: Art4

Garden Alley (Bulgaria)
Dir: Olga Koleva
Prod co: Geopoly

Let’s Say Piontek (Poland)
Dir: Natasza Parzymies
Prod o: EGoFILM

Scars (Czech Republic)
Dir:Pavel Nosek
Prod co: Prvni rada

The Incident (Poland)
Dir: Tomasz Wolski
Prod co: Kijora Film

The Silent Shore (Ukraine)
Dir: Irina Asonova, prod co: Constant Production

The Vultures (Slovenia)
Dir: Vida Breze
Prod co: Blade Production

To Move Mountains (Czech Republic)
Dirs: Anna Wowra, Vojtech Novotný
Prod co: nutprodukce

Works in Progress

Barracuda (Lithuania-Latvia- Italy)
Dir: Tomas Vengris
Prod cos:  Austrè Studio, Locomotive Studio, Samarcanda

Chica Checa (Czech Republic-France- Slovakia)
Dir: Šimon Holý
Prod cos: Silk Films, The French Connection, Arinafilm, Česká televize

Flood (Slovakia-Czech Republic-Poland- Belgium)
Dir:  Martin Gonda
Prod cos: Silverart, Cineart TV Prague, Harine Films, The Y-House Films

Only Until Dawn (Poland)
Dirs: Eliza Godlewska, Alan Ruczyński
Prod cos; ISTV Media

Passport To Poland (Brazil, Poland), dir. Paulinho Caruso, prod cos: Bionica Cinema E TV, Apple Film Production