Poland's own Studio City

At an official ceremony last week attended by state officials and prominent filmmakers, Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński officially signed a letter of intent for the construction of a movie lot in central Poland. The lot will be built on 467 ha of land in the city of Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą, and will comprise 10 production studios and additional facilities for set-building, costume and prop storage.

The lot will be equipped for the production of commercials, television, documentary and feature-length films, including areas designated for the construction of large-scale backlots. Poland's "Studio City" will be located 80 km from Warsaw on a direct route between the capital and the historical center of filmmaking, Łódź - the city that introduced the likes of Polański, Wajda and Kieślowski to the world.

"The State has an obligation to certain disciplines, the arts included, and we want to fulfill these obligations," Kaczyński declared at the event. The Prime Minister also recently announced the government's decision to relieve filmmakers of the burden of VAT, which has led major Hollywood producers to set their multi-million-dollar productions elsewhere. It is now hoped that Polish film production will see a huge revival and a significant injection of foreign capital.

Financing for the investment, estimated at E100 (zł.380) million, will be divided between EU structural funds and a number of national cultural institutions. Construction should begin next year and "Studio City" should be operational by the end of 2009.