Poland’s New Generation of Producers Courts Global Talent

By Will Tizard

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Poland’s new generation of producers has been gearing up as the country’s films gain burnished profiles on the world stage — and they’re deeply invested in driving further advances, especially as the country’s parliament is poised to pass rich production incentives.

Building on the success at Cannes of Pawel Pawlikowski’s retro romance “Cold War,” the film’s producer, Ewa Puszczynska, recently joined forces with two other established talents in , Klaudia Śmieja (producer of “High Life” and “Gareth Jones”) and sales agent Jan Naszewski of New Europe Film Sales (“Rams,” “Summer 1993”) to form production company NEM Corp.

Puszczynska (who also produced Pawlikowski’s “Ida”) has committed to embracing Poland’s new production incentives in addition to securing both public and private project financing, reflecting a strategy used by many colleagues.

Projects have been rolling into Poland or launching locally with international partners at a brisk pace even without incentives, so experts predict the added attraction could bring the country into a new era as a booming regional film location.

Among the films that have made use of Polish locales and crews recently are several by veteran filmmakers who could have chosen other places and partners: “Gareth Jones,” a period thriller directed by Agnieszka Holland; Bill Pullman-starring Cold War thriller “The Coldest Game” by Lukasz Kosmicki; drama “Corpus Christi” by Jan Komasa; “All Inclusive” by Malgorzata Szumowska, billed as the first-ever Polish-Moroccan co-production; “Unpromised Land” by Jacek Borcuch; and kidnapping thriller “Fisheye” by Michal Szczesniak.