THE BEGINING OF 'LATO [SUMMER]'
A NEW FILM WITHIN THE '30 MINUTES' PROGRAMME

A film by Piotr Subbotko 'Lato [The Summer]' is now being produced by the Andrzej Wajda School within the framework of the '30 Minutes' programme. The leading parts are played by Zygmunt Malanowicz and Sandra Korzeniak.

On 4 September the first take on the set of the film 'Lato' was taken – the film is a 30-minutes feature film produced at the Andrzej Wajda School within the '30 Minutes' programme – a joint initiative of the Wajda School, the Andrzej Munk Studio 'The Young and Film' Programme within the Polish Filmmakers Association, the Polish Film Institute and TVP Kultura.

'Lato' is the story of a 12-year-old Damian, who is convinced that his father is a well-known football player who plays for the Celtic Glasgow Club. During the summer holidays, the boy tries to earn enough money to afford a trip to Scotland. He thus helps a retired Miecio, who becomes his friend, in household repairs. When Miecio has an accident, Damian faces a dramatic choice...

Piotr Subbotko – scriptwriter (e.g. 'Pitbull', 'Fala zbrodni [The Crimewave]', 'Egzamin z życia [The Exam of life]' and playwright (among other plays, he wrote the monologue 'Dziura w głowie [The Hole in the Head]' - within Krystian Lupa's workshops for theatre directors), he is a graduate of the Theatre Studies at the State Theatre Academy and of a course at the Andrzej Wajda School of Film Directing. His script entitled 'Hiszpańskie dziewczyny [Spanish Girls]' was in the finals of the Polish Edition of the Hartley-Merrill Scriptwriting Contest 2009. The film 'Lato' is going to be his directing debut.

The director of photography for the project is Wojciech Staroń – a respected cinematographer (among other films, 'Plac Zbawiciela [The Saviour Square], 'Jeszcze nie wieczór [Before the Twilight]). Małgorzata Staroń is responsible for the sound and Alicja Kizińska is the production manager. In the film, among others, there perform Rafał Garnecki, Zygmunt Malanowicz, Sandra Korzeniak, Adam Graczyk, Aneta Thuong Majchrzak, Filip Garbacz, Jowita Budnik.

The producers of the film 'Lato' are: the Andrzej Munk Studio - the Polish Filmmakers Association and the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing. The executive producer of the film is the School, whose unique formula consists in a combination of training with film production. The school in particular supports debutants who have an opportunity both to make their first/second feature film as well as a documentary one.

'Lato' is the eight film produced at the Andrzej Wajda School within the framework of the '30 Minutes' programme – a joint initiative of the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing, the Polish Filmmakers Association, TVP Kultura and the Polish Film Institute. The goal of this programme is to enable young filmmakers to make their feature film debuts in professional conditions. So far, within the '30 Minutes' programme the Andrzej Wajda School produced the following films:
'Trójka do wzięcia [Three for the Taking]' dir. Bartek Konopka
'Podróż [The Journey]' dir. Dariusz Glazer
'Droga wewnętrzna [The Inner Road]' dir. Dorota Lamparska
'Aria Diva' dir. Agnieszka Smoczyńska
'Jak to jest być moja matką [What It's Like To Be My Mother]' dir. Norah McGettigan
'Na kredyt [On Credit]' dir. Przemysław Nowakowski
'Lunatycy [The Sleepwalkers]' dir. Maciek Sterło-Orlicki

The Andrzej Munk Studio 'The Young and Film' is the producer and co-producer of feature, documentary and animation film debuts. It was established by the Polish Filmmakers Association, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Polish Film Institute in March 2008. In April it was also joined by the Polish Television. The goal of the Studio is to produce films including full-length debut films, feature films within the framework of the '30 Minutes' programme, documentary films within the framework of the 'First Documentary' programme and animated films as part of the 'Young Animation' programme. As many as 11 films produced or co-produced by the Studio will be presented at various sections of this year's 34 Polish Film Festival in Gdynia. 

More at www.studiomunka.pl

The Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing is an exceptional place: the only such a place in Poland and one of the few in Europe. It combines education and production – of both documentary and feature films, actively supporting young talented filmmakers. Among its tutors and artistic supervisors are the most famous and experienced film professionals: Andrzej Wajda, Wojciech Marczewski, Edward Żebrowski, Marcel Łoziński, Jacek Bławut, Agnieszka Holland, Volker Schloendorff, Aleksander Sokurow, Krzysztof Materna, Andrzej Titkow. In the past 8 years of its existence, the School has organised 21 courses for over 400 participants (another several dozens of people benefited from the consultations and artistic supervision). We have produced about 40 documentary, short and medium-length feature films as well as 200 etudes. The School is not geared for profit – the income is allocated to the statutory objectives, and the charges make no more than 15% of the education costs. The school is under the patronage of the European Film Academy. Our work is supported by the Polish Film Institute and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. At the Kraków Film Festival 2008, the School received a Prize for the Best Producer of Short and Documentary Films.
 

(September 2009)