23/03/2006

For some years now, it has been near to impossible to see a Polish film in mainstream European cinemas. This is also the case for productions that have been successful at several festivals. Mój Nikifor (My Nikifor) by Krzysztof Krauze (13 international awards, including the Grand Prix at Karlovy Vary) was only sold to Czech, Slovakian and Japanese distributors to Hungarian television and two Australian broadcasters. It is rare for a Polish film to have an international sales agent. Vinci by Juliusz Machulski is an exception whose popularity can be explained by its genre. This criminal comedy, thanks to its international promotion, has already been sold in 15 territories (9 in Europe).

It is precisely this lack of promotion from which Polish cinema suffers which producers and distributors – who feel very alone on this front – complain about. To remedy the problem, the Polish Film Institute (PISF) is in the process of developing an expensive international promotion strategy. But the most costly promotional campaign that the PISF has undertaken this year – promotion in the US of The Collector as a candidate in the Oscars – ended in failure. Since the Berlin film festival the Polish Film Institute has become a member of European Film Promotion.

If Polish cinema sells poorly abroad it is also because – as Agnieszka Holland often points out – there is a lack of interest from Western Europe in countries in other parts of Europe. These countries are “losing out” to China, Iran and other non-European or exotic countries, whose cultures differ significantly from those that audiences in “old” Europe are used to. “Productions from our filmmakers are therefore not as interesting as they once were before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Our films are only made for cinephiles,” says Agnieszka Holland.