Written by The Location Guide on Mar 29, 2022. Posted in General Interest

Polish Producers Alliance, Film Institute and Academy work together to help Ukrainian filmmakers

The Polish Producers Alliance (KIPA) are working with Polish Film Institute (PFI) and Polish Film Academy (PFA) to help the Ukrainian filmmaking community. The Location Guide spoke to Maciej Dydo, managing director at KIPA, to learn more about their activities.

 

How are you offering assistance to the Ukrainian film community?

We are aware that we have to help Ukrainian filmmakers who are staying in their own country and documenting the war, as well as those who are already in Poland and organising help for their fellow citizens or AV industry colleagues. As KIPA and PFA offices are relatively small structures we have decided to focus on filmmakers only leaving the general help (i.e. accommodation) to NGOs that are active in Poland.

How are responsibilities split between the three organisations?

We have divided responsibilities assuming our capacity to introduce aid measures. We decided that PFA will focus on help to the Ukrainian filmmakers that are in Ukraine and KIPA will focus on the Ukrainians that are in Poland. These responsibilities often intersect, and we are in constant contact with each other. Both KIPA and PFA are parts of international structures - the EPC (European Producers Club) for PFA, and CEPI (European Coordination of European Producers) and FIAPC (Federation of Film Producers) for KIPA - and we are engaged in collaboration with the respective bodies and organisations therein. Polish Film Institute has been engaged in diplomatic actions via EFAD and international press. The Institute is preparing the financial programme for coproductions with Ukrainian producers, they have opened the possibility to publish job offers via their internet page and are offering legal support for Ukrainian filmmakers.

What is the core mission of this collaboration?

In brief, to make the work of Ukrainian filmmakers in the war zone as feasible and safe as possible and to provide them access to the Polish AV industry if they decide to work in Poland. We also care for the non-finished Ukrainian productions as well as Ukrainian AV heritage (although, in the case of archives, the work is being done on an intergovernmental level). We are supporting Ukrainian friends in getting with their footage to media as well.

What are your current activities?

When Polish Film Academy coordinates assistance for filmmakers who are in Ukraine and documenting events on the spot, the assistance consists of organising and transporting film equipment (cameras, discs, memory cards, batteries and accumulators), means of communication (walkie-talkies), drones, and life protection (bulletproof vests, Kevlar helmets and rescue kits) to Ukraine. The Academy has also launched a platform on which photos and films made in Ukraine are uploaded. PAF launched two contact e-mail addresses: helpUA@pnf.pl and pomoc@pnf.pl to coordinate help. Producer organisations associated with CEPI and EPC are in direct contact with KIPA and PFA. Once a week, we have status meetings where information is provided about the needs and possibilities of assistance in the form of equipment purchases.

KIPA also creates support tools for filmmakers who find themselves in Poland, including: a database containing the portfolios of Ukrainians looking for a job in Poland, and a registration form for Ukrainian filmmakers wishing to work in Poland. The database is available in beta version, and we will update it with a search engine in the following days. The data is collected in accordance with the GDPR and verified at the Ukrainian Film Academy. As far as we can we help to match people looking for work with job offers.

 

We collect data on job offers, which can be sent to the following address: pracadlaukrainy@kipa.pl; and, in parallel to the Polish Film Institute, to the address ukraina@pisf.pl. PFI publishes job offers on its website in English and Ukrainian. We send interested people information about Ukrainians representing particular professions. We also collect data on accommodation for Ukrainian filmmakers, but ultimately we want to pass overnight management to non-governmental organisations that efficiently deal with building databases related to accommodation and finding new accommodation.

 

We are engaged in collecting financial resources for organising help and purchase relevant equipment for Ukrainian filmmakers, which is organised via online fundraising. We are involved in the work of CEPI and FIAPF related to helping Ukrainian filmmakers. CEPI will be involved in raising funds, equipment, and safety, health and life protection measures for Ukrainian filmmakers, and will send us information on foreign job offers. We also engaged the legal office, which launched free legal assistance for Ukrainian filmmakers and producers in matters related to the employment of people from Ukraine in Poland and EU as well as their legal status; we are coordinating the flow of information between the legal office and the filmmakers in need.

Going forward, how can other members of the global film industry assist your activities?

We are already in contact with the relevant organisations both on the CEPI and EPC format. They know how we work and how we convey information. They are also engaged in fundraising in the relevant countries. Some of the organisations that have supported the fundraising done by the Filmmakers Guild I have mentioned here above.

 

 

 

Images courtesy of KIPA, PFI and PFA