Transatlantyk Icebeaker industry event launched its 3rd edition in Lodz on 14 July 2019. “I am very happy that our event is already so well established on the Polish film market. We are focused on creating a space for serious discussion and experience exchange rather than offer training to those who are only starting in the business. That is why we change our subject every year and often invite very experienced filmmakers and producers, we also welcome people who took part in Icebreaker in previous years. Icebreaker is a space where the participants can be open about the reality of film production, ask the hardest questions and look for solutions”, Joanna Łapińska, the Director of the Transatlantyk Film Festival, told FNE.
This year’s edition, organised in cooperation with KIPA, focuses heavily on the process of development with speakers covering every aspect of this initial stage of every film production. „Icebreaker is not the first event talking about development; every year we consult with the industry and we got so many requests to focus on development that we wanted to cater to that need and to create a platform for them to analyse this stage of producing on a deeper level and to figure out what can be improved in the way that cinema is created nowadays”, Łapińska adds.
Screenwriter and script doctor Agnieszka Kruk will talk about the literary development of the script, while producer Leszek Bodzak will take the participants through the planning stages of a successful development process. Head of KIPA Alicja Grawon-Jaksik will cover the legal aspects and Klaudia Śmieja (Agnus Dei, High Life) is coming back to Icebreaker to share her experiences in international coproduction and on how development is key in these types of endeavors. Mariusz Włodarski (The Here After) will present a case study of his work in international development.
The issue of public funding that can be accessed at this point in production will be tackled by Agata Gruszecka, who will present the Creative Europe programmes and Małgorzata Szczepkowsa-Kaleba from the Polish Film Institute, who will go over the recently introduced Polish cash incentives for film producers.
Icebreaker will wrap up on the 17 July 2019 with an open lecture on Women in Film, presented by Dorota Piekarczyk as part of KIPA'S Acelarator 3.0 programme.
