Kox, Smoczyńska and Spielberg are shooting with Mazovia Film Fund

Bodo Kox, Agnieszka Smoczyńska, and Nancy Spielberg will shoot their next films with Mazovia Film Fund. Meanwhile Paweł Łoziński and Michał Marczak’s latest documentaries are making a splash as they begin the festival circuit.

The sixth edition of the Mazovia Film Fund Competition will provide support to the most interesting projects being produced in Warsaw and the Mazovia region. Two weeks ago several streets of the former Warsaw Ghetto (Sienna, Dzielna, Tłomackie) and the WFDiF sound stage on Chełmska Street were shooting locations for "Who Will Write Our History." This fictional documentary film about the Jewish archives, directed by Roberta Grossman, is an international coproduction with Match & Spark Management responsible on the Polish side, and Nancy Spielberg’s production company on the American side.

Mazovia Film Fund has decided to coproduce three other documentary films: Alicja Albrecht’s "Obserwacje Wojciecha Młynarskiego – czyli dalszy ciąg ratowania Polaków od grzechu niemyślenia" (Wojciech Młynarski’s Observations, or How to save Poles from the Sin of Unthinkingness), Wiktoria Szymańska’s "Artur" about an overly-sensitive homeless boy, and Paweł Ferdek’s "Pollywood" about the Warner brothers and Samuel Goldwyn, who came from Mazovia, and Luis B. Mayer, who came from Minsk, all of whom emigrated to United States in the late 19th century and founded the biggest production studios, thereby giving rise to Hollywood.

Mazovia Film Fund will also coproduce three feature films. The first project is a science-fiction movie set in Warsaw, "Człowiek z magicznym pudełkiem" (The Man with a Magic Box), a second film by Bodo Kox, acknowledged for his debut, "The Girl from the Wardrobe." MFF will also support Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s second film "Fuga" (The Fugue), written by Gabriela Muskala. The director won an award at the Sundance festival for her film, "The Lure." The last project to receive support from the Fund is a family film, "Julka, Olek i prawdziwe tarapaty" (The Trouble), the debut film by Marta Karwowska.

It appears that Mazovia Film Fund’s system of choosing the best projects has proven itself. The latest coproductions of the Fund are good examples. Jan P. Matuszyński’s debut, "Ostatnia rodzina" (The Last Family), a film about a painter Zdzisław Beksiński and his family, is considered to be one of the most anticipated premieres this year. Michał Marczak’s "Wszystkie nieprzespane noce" (All These Sleepless Nights) won a prize at the Sundance Film Festival. In other countries the film is considered to be a "Warsaw odyssey" and a tribute to the city. In the near future a fictional documentary will be screened at T-Mobile New Horizons IFF in Wrocław, where it will be competing in the International Competition, and at Karlovy Vary IFF. World premieres of two films, "Nawet nie wiesz jak bardzo cię kocham" (You Have No Idea How Much I Love You) by Paweł Łoziński and "Nauka chodzenia" (Walking Spark) by Marcin Kopeć, took place during the the 56th Krakow Film Festival. Łoziński’s film won an award for the best Polish documentary – The Silver Hobby-Horse.

Among the recent successes of MFF films the following projects must be mentioned. "Bracia" (Brothers) by Wojciech Staroń and "15 Corners of the World" by Zuzanna Solakiewicz, both of which won awards in Locarno. However, the Fund’s proudest achievement is "Body/Ciało" by Małgorzata Szumowska, which received a Silver Bear in Berlin, two nominations to the European Film Awards (wining one), and four Eagles, i.e. the Polish Film Awards, in the most important categories: best film, best director, best actress (Maja Ostaszewska), and best actor (Janusz Gajos). However, proof of the film’s international success is the fact that it has been distributed in 25 countries.

Mazovia Film Fund has been operating for six years. Over 250 projects have vied for financial support over the six editions of the competition. These have included feature films, documentaries, and animated films. To date five million złotys have been allocated to 32 projects. The funds come from the budget of the Mazovia Provincial Government. Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission works actively in tandem with Mazovia Film Fund.