Tadeusz Scibor-Rylski:
By : Anna Kocinska
Poland's film industry has not entirely broken with the past. State-owned film studios, production centers and state-owned distribution agencies still exist, and the national budget funds up to 30% of production costs for more than 50 feature films and documentaries annually. Those funds are dispensed by the state's Film Production Agency under the direction of the Cinematography Committee. The subsidy is intended to provide a safe harbor for the nation's film industry and culture under the onslaught of foreign competition. But for how long? State budget cuts threaten this support system's lifeline. Tadeusz Scibor-Rylski, chairman of the Cinematography Committee, is backing a plan with the government to build a second lifeline from industry revenue, a move that has received stiff opposition from some producers and cinema owners. Although to date most Polish films have not been commercial successes, Scibor-Rylski cites box office hits "Ogniem i mieczem" and "Pan Tadeusz" as evidence that state funding can support quality films with financing potential. The WBJ's Anna Kocinska recently talked with Scibor-Rylski about the issues facing the industry. The following is an edited version of their conversation.
Q: Not all countries have a special government office assigned to the motion picture industry. Why is it necessary here?
A: There is a need for some kind of an organization that would coordinate the entire motion-picture sphere in Poland through various aid and motivation activities. We have state-owned studios, state-owned production and distribution centers. There is also a state-owned screenplay agency. Nevertheless, the free market exists. Within the last few years, independent producers have accounted for 50% of production. And the role of the Cinematography Committee has been gradually limited from a control and a decision-making body to an aid provider that helps both private and state-owned structures. We are talking about subsidizing motion-picture activities at all stages, from screenplay to promotion.
Q: But the existence of state aid is not an ultimate condition for the development of culture. What culture needs is a good economic situation and stability
A: I agree. If there were other solutions, like tax deductions for those who invest in the motion-picture business, state protection wouldn't be necessary. But as long as the market is undeveloped, such an office gives certain stability to filmmakers and producers who are only beginning to emerge. In my opinion, the situation will change completely when an appropriate movie law is introduced, the kind of legislation that would describe specific organizations active on the market and enhance the prestige of producers and movie-maker associations.
Q: Is there a clear way to systemize financing for film production?
A: A movie fund. It would be fueled every year, not only by the budget, where funding is never ensured, but also and above all by the effects of the workings of the entire market. Tickets, for example, might also contribute. Today, cinemas keep 50% of revenue coming from ticket sales. The rest goes to distributors. We suggest that 4% of this revenue go to the film fund. I won't go as far as specifying whether it will be 2% out of the cinema's share and 2% of the distributor's share. What matters is that such a system would allow a distributor, for example, to apply for help from the fund when he accepts a worse movie, and to allow a cinema owner to receive resources when he decides to modernize his business.
Q: How long will the state subsidize filmmaking? Until Poland updates its economy to European Union (EU) standards?
A: As long as a self-financing system is not introduced, which exists elsewhere in Europe and where money from the market finances the development of film art, we will have to keep some small amount of budget money to support undertakings aimed at injecting the Polish national identity into movies.
Q: Isn't it enough to shoot good movies, such as "Ogniem i mieczem" or "Pan Tadeusz" to make the fundraising process easier for other filmmakers? Private companies have apparently started to perceive Polish movies as a potentially good business
A: A lot has changed in this respect. But it's hard to tell what criteria investors use when making production decisions. Whether it's a potentially good movie, the name of the director or a chance for good box-office ratings? I would say it's all of them at the same time. But at the moment, all of those movies still cannot make it without budget subsidies distributed by the Film Production Agency, which is responsible to the Cinematography Committee. Thanks to the agency, some 20 feature films and more than 30 non-fiction films are made in Poland yearly. And what they get is cash, ready money, which bears no burden such as interest rates. It's a pure subsidy that has to be returned, though. When the movie starts generating a profit, the agency has the right to participate in it up to its share in production costs.
Q: And what if a movie is a disaster?
A: So far, most movies haven't generated any profit and producers haven't returned the money.
Q: Globally, which system of national movie production is your favorite?
A: So far, I'm quite positive that it's the French model because it made the development of movie production dependent on the market to the highest possible level. I think it's fair that cinemas financially contribute to that development. And at the end of the day it also works for them because the more the market develops, the larger their turnover is and the greater is their share of the profit. Today, when (Polish) cinema owners are very critical of that concept, I wonder what their point is. The most obvious reason is that cinemas are under-invested and (they) are afraid of an even greater drop in (their) technical standards if they have to pay back part of their revenue to the film fund. This type of model (film fund) is suggested in a parliamentary bill project and in a government project, both of which are aimed at regulating the film market in Poland. But I don't think (cinema owners) should be afraid of this concept because the film fund offers the entities that fuel the fund the chance to apply for subsidies too. So if a cinema is taxed, at the same time it will be able to get sources for modernization and to raise its standards. Otherwise, with 50% of revenue from ticket sales given to distributors, cinemas couldn't afford modernization. All those technical novelties, which have to be introduced to enable older cinemas to compete with the new ones, cost a huge amount of money. They couldn't possibly afford such an investment on their own.
Q: Are we talking about competition between the already existing single-screen cinemas and the multiplex cinemas now present on the Polish market?
A: If you're talking about development of the market, you shouldn't use the word 'competition.' Instead, we should talk about coexistence and interdependency. Such a correlation would mean that the construction of multiplex cinemas would encourage modernization of the existing cinemas. At the same time, coexistence would mean that there should be as many screens in Poland as possible and that they should be available to all sorts of movies, no matter where they come from.
Q: But there's a danger that the multiplexes will show only hits, which very often have nothing to do with film art, or European production.
A: Theoretically, yes, and that's why we should defend film art by writing safe and good articles to protect national cinematography.
Q: Can you think of an article, though, that would encourage Polish directors to shoot excellent movies, acceptable to audiences?
A: Good European cinema will successfully defend itself. At the same time, weaker movies, in terms of box-office rating expectations, but which are valuable from an artistic point of view, have to count on some kind of support.
Q: Don't you think that the financial restrictions of the free market are the best film critics or forces that prompt directors to think twice before they create a disastrous film?
A: It has to be the norm once the cinema in Poland is completely governed in accordance with market rules. Directors will have to give up presenting weak projects because investors will refuse to help them, despite incentives of tax deductions. However, I still think there has to be some support for the kind of cinema (Krzysztof Kieslowski, Andrzej Wajda, Jerzy Hoffman), that has become a trademark of our culture and of our intellectual qualities. It played such an important role in this part of Europe, despite restrictions, as the only source of information to viewers. Today, that kind of cinema has achieved an unquestionable prestige and quality and that's why it has to be saved so that it doesn't disappear in the sea of commercial aggression.
Q: How much does the agency pay annually for movie production in Poland?
A: About zl. 14 million ($3.3 million) per year. "Pan Tadeusz," for example, received exactly as much as other movies, zl. 700,000.
Q: How will the agency stand at the end of this year?
A: If the producer of "Ogniem i mieczem" returned all that it owes, it would be in excellent standing. Up to now, "Ogniem i mieczem" returned about 50% of its liabilities. That's zl. 1.4 million ($333,000) from only one movie. All the returns can be used next year. Last year they amounted to zl. 900,000. This year by itself "Ogniem i mieczem" will generate zl. 3 million ($714,000), so the amount of returns has increased significantly.
Q: Does it mean that finally there are more good movies produced in Poland, which will return the money the agency has provided them?
A: Yes. The box office ratings of Polish movies prove my point. Since 1996, something has changed and people have started to go to movies again after a period when they gave up almost completely. Through last year, only 10% of all film-goers saw Polish films. This year we expect that to change for the first time. The last Gdynia Polish Film Festival showed that there were more good films than bad ones. I think that movies such as "Dlug" by Krzysztof Krauze or "Prawo ojca" by Marek Kondrat, will be hits too. They are very contemporary and exactly what the audience is expecting now. Next year, "Quo Vadis", based on the Nobel prize-winning book by Henryk Sienkiewicz and "Chopin" will be the most serious undertakings by the Polish motion-picture industry.
