The Polish Film institute has announced more than $17m in new funding for film projects and productions, including $14.5m for feature production.

The results of the first funding session in 2009 also include $8.2m in direct support for international co-productions, including Polish-minority co-productions.

The single largest grant was $2.2m (PLN 8m) in production funds for Krzyz Walecnych.

The film is directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and is conceived as a $7.9m Polish-UK co-production. EC1 Films is the Polish producer. The historical story examines the life of Merian C. Cooper, a US-born pilot who helped create the Polish air force and later became a film-maker.

Contra Studio received $1.1m (PLN 4m) in production funds for Lowca Dusz. Directed by Robert Glinski, the international co-production between Poland, Russia, Germany and Ukraine has a total budget of $3m (PLN 11.2).

Harvey Keitel will play the main role in the Polish-language film which tells the story of two American Jesuits who attempt to remove the relics of St. Andrew Bobola from the Soviet Union.

Jerzy Skolimowski's project Essential Killing received $955,000 (PLN 3.5m) in production money. The drama, about an escaped convict, is a $2.2m (PLN 8.1m) co-production between France, Poland and the UK. Skopia Film is the Polish producer.

Agnieszka Holland's project Hidden will receive $918,000 (PLN 3.4m) for production.

The PLN 22.2m ($6m) co-production between Poland, Canada and Germany is a historical drama about a smuggler who turns to protecting Jews during the Second World War. Production companies are Zebra Film Studio (Poland), The Film Works (Canada) and Schmidtz Katze Filmkolletiv (Germany).

Development awards were made to a further eight projects.

Yeti Films was awarded $273,000 (PLN 1m) for their contribution to the $1.9m Israeli-Polish co-production Son Of God, from directors Erez Tadmor and Guy Nattiv. Pie Films is the Israeli partner.

Koncept Media will get $218,000 (PLN 800,000) for their budget for Aglaja, a $2.7m pan-European co-production between Hungary, Germany, Poland, and Romania, directed by Krisztina Deak.

Zentropa International Poland received $218,000 (PLN 800,000) for Czech-Polish co-production The Woman Who Dreamed About A Man. The $3m film is directed by Danish film-maker Per Fly.

Scorpio Films received $55,000 (PLN 200,000) in development funds for Operation Freedom, a spy thriller to be directed by Roger Donaldson (The Bank Job, The World's Fastest Indian).

Anagram Film was awarded $27,000 (PLN 100,000) in development funds for Love, a marriage written and directed by Slawomir Fabicki. Fabicki's first film, Retrieval, won the Ecumenical Jury prize in Un Certain Regard in 2006.

Yeti Films will receive $20,000 (PLN 75,700) to develop Medium, a political thriller directed by Piotr Mularuk, who was a co-producer on Peter Greenaway's Nightwatching and Marleen Gorris's Within The Whirlwind.

Tor Film Studio received $32,000 (PLN 118,856) in development funds for Dumka, to be directed by Katarzyna Adamik.

The fund also granted $55,000 (PLN 200,000) to the Quay brothers for their animated short The Mask, based on a story by Stanislaw Lem.

In total 195 projects applied for funding. Several projects were forwarded to the next funding session, including Renny Harlin's $10.8m Mannerheim.