The Polish producer discusses her approach to her craft and breaks down her career so far

Cineuropa sat down with Aga Wasiak, of Lava Films, who is the Polish participant in EFP’s Producers on the Move programme at Cannes, to discuss her projects and her approach to her craft. She has successfully produced or co-produced many international projects helmed by Polish and foreign directors, including Carlo Sironi, Aga Woszczyńska, Małgorzata Szumowska and Maciej Englert. Lava Films, which she co-founded, is a Łódź-based production company that was also behind the Oscar-nominated The Girl with the Needle [+see also:
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Cineuropa: You have previously taken part in different training schemes and programmes, including the Berlinale Talent Campus, ACE and EAVE. What do you expect from your participation in Producers on the Move?
Aga Wasiak: I’m always open to what any of these workshops or programmes bring. I learned not to have high expectations, because then, the outcome is the best possible one. I think participating in such events is about meeting new people and discovering fresh faces in the industry. We have been in the industry for several years, and refreshing the network is very important if we want to avoid getting stale. We [at Lava Films] like working with new people and new countries, and discovering opportunities that result from these connections, which are not always obvious ones. But for them to occur in general, events like Producers on the Move are vital. They inspire me, so if I’m expecting anything, it’s inspiration: there will be projects for me to learn about, or which I already know from our short online Producers on the Move sessions.

I am going to Cannes with one main project, and I will be promoting it, but I have a few titles on the go, so it’s also important for me to build up their market presence. Cannes is the place where we would like to see our projects premiere one day. Lava Films has gained momentum now, also after the success of The Girl with the Needle. Sustaining our presence in the industry is key.

How many projects do you ideally want to develop at the same time so that it can be a sustainable business model for you?
There are certain schools that say you need to have ten projects so that two of them will come to life. But I don’t know how I would be able to keep up with so many projects. Also, in 99% of the cases involving the projects I develop, they get produced. Usually, I have two or three ongoing projects that fluctuate – some of them are produced faster, while some need more time. And sometimes, there is a sudden “explosion”, and we move into production with three projects at the same time. As a result, we get so busy that we forget our own names.

And what are your current projects?
My main project is Black Water by Aga Woszczyńska, which is commencing shooting now. I am also working on Tears of Neon by Karolina Bielawska, Two Souls by Łukasz Ronduda and We’re Leaving by Kamil Krawczycki. Basically, choosing a business model is a decision based on how much you can take on and have creative control over, so you don’t end up working on one project at the cost of neglecting another. And I like to be a very hands-on producer from the early-script stage. I do organisational work, and I oversee casting and other creative elements. It makes me happy, but I need headspace and time to navigate the projects. Also, I almost never board projects that are nearly ready for production.

How many of the projects you have worked on are minority co-productions with Poland?
Before I answer that, I would like to add that all of the projects I mentioned are international co-productions. Black Water is a collaboration between five countries: Poland, Finland, Estonia, Germany and Denmark. Tears of Neon is a co-production between Poland and Bulgaria. Apart from the documentary 21 x New York [+see also:
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Coming back to your question about minority co-productions: they happen constantly and organically. Whenever I share information about my majority co-productions with fellow producers, they mention theirs, and we start talking about doing something together... Minority co-productions have always been an important part of Lava, and recently, we really gained some good momentum. The Things You Kill [+see also:
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