Executive summary

Film Proxy is an advocate for the emerging Polish below-the-line talent. The talent is scouted and recruited within four areas: cinematography, editing, sound, animation and special effects. Film Proxy promotes them by organizing a series of free, curated matchmaking on-site events with local and international professional film producers, production houses and film directors. Film Proxy scouts for talent before it is recognized in the Polish film industry and then takes it to various industry events and meetings in Europe in order to help them build their professional network and internationalize their potential. Film Proxy also offers an on-site qualification development sessions under the name Film Campus to keep its talent up-to-date with the latest technological and esthetical developments. Film Proxy's talent are Polish film school graduates with own portfolio and first experience in the industry. Film Proxy fulfills their need for mentorship and helps them get noticed by the international industry.

The goal of Film Proxy is to make connections between international and local professional audiovisual producers, production houses and directors, and emerging Polish film talent - in order to facilitate their cooperation. Film Proxy draws from the over 40-year-experience of the Kieslowski Film School in Poland, but is not limited to the talent graduating from this school. The association with the Kieślowski Film School allows Film Proxy key objective to be to establish the talent in the industry, regardless the monetary result.

Film Proxy offers tutoring and workshops that develop soft skills of the Polish talent, but most importantly offers opportunity to meet and network with the film industry professionals who are in search for skilled and reliable talent.

Problem

Development of the technology together with its falling prices and democratization of the access to the filmmaking skills, have resulted in an increased number of professional audiovisual content made each year. The film industry is rapidly growing worldwide, producing original content for VOD platforms, tv stations and also channels that were not traditionally connected to the professional audiovisual content. It results in a constant, growing need for talent and an irrational feeling of its limited supply.

At the same time every year Polish film schools are graduated by large numbers of talented young filmmakers who are yet to create their network of collaborators. Polish film market is full of talented and well-skilled professionals who are seeking their opportunity to enter the film mainstream. They possess the qualifications and skills, but lack the grounded network of other professionals from the audiovisual sector.

Solution

The goal of Film Proxy is to make connections between these two pools of people – international and local professional AV producers and directors, and emerging Polish film talent - in order to facilitate their cooperation and secure its fairness and transparency. Film Proxy addresses the democratization of the access to the film professions, such as e.g. DoPs, film editors, animators, and sound and image postproduction engineers. At the same time Film Campus are the on-site qualification development sessions, which offer not only professional training and equipment/software presentations, but also networking cocktails and meetings during European film festivals and industry meetings.

Unique Selling Proposition

1. Film Proxy discovers the talent at its earliest stages of career
2. Film Proxy offers a portfolio of below-the-line filmmakers who do not only possess the technical capabilities, but also are selected accordingly to their talent
3. Film Proxy offers the industry orientation and legal advice for its talent
4. Film Proxy draws from the over 40-year-experience of the Kieslowski Film School in Poland
5. Film Proxy offers an on-site qualification development platform called Film Campus to stay in touch with the latest developments in the industry and technology
6. Film Proxy promotes and introduces film talent from Poland internationally by enhancing its visibility

Competitive advantage

Film Proxy offers portfolios of highly skilled below-the-line film professionals who Film Proxy scouts at the earliest stages of their career taking care of their later development and networking in Poland and internationally. The talent is scouted and recruited within four areas: cinematography, editing, sound, animation and special effects. The international visibility of the talent is ensured by its presence at the relevant for each area industry events and creating and update of the international professional profiles (imdb, LinkedIN, Cinando).

As a result, Film Proxy gives the unique access to the emerging Polish film talent. Film Proxy is bridging a gap that exists between the film school and being a part of the professional audiovisual industry.

Participation in Film Proxy is for free, it has an academic basis and it is solely based on the individual and their set of skills and talent, which is secured by the existence of an artistic advisory board with an expert in each of the represented area.

Film Proxy offers tutoring and workshops that develop soft skills of the Polish talent, but most importantly offers opportunity to meet and network with the film industry professionals who are in search for talent. While talent agencies focus on finding jobs for their talent, Film Proxy’s objective is to establish the talent in the industry, regardless the monetary result.

Business model

Film Proxy will be an association according to the Polish law with partners among Polish film and art schools. The founder partner of Film Proxy is Kieslowski Film School in Katowice, Poland. It is in deep interest of the founder that Film Proxy remains a nonprofit organization. Because of its structure its initial activities will be covered with the internationalization funding of the University of Silesia from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

Further steps include application to the Polish Film Institute and Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in Poland, as well as Creative Europe MEDIA.

Founder team and advisors

The founder team of Film Proxy includes Anna Huth (assistant professor at the Kieslowski Film School), Robert Sowa (animator, Vice-Dean of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow) and Bogdan Dziworski (Polish director and DoP).

Our most important business partners would be Polish Film Institute and Polish Film Commission, Krakow Film Festival, KIPA (National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers), Polish Institute in Berlin, Polish Institute in Paris and Polish Cultural Institute in London.

Film Proxy’s structure involves an artistic advisory board with an experienced professionals in each of the four represented areas: cinematography, animation and special effects, editing, and sound.

The function of the Ambassador of the Film Proxy will be offered to Slawomir Idziak (Three colours: Blue, Black Hawk Down, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) and Lukasz Zal (Ida, Cold War). The function of the Ambassadors will be to serve as an example of the success story of a Polish filmmaker that has succeeded working internationally.

The Next Wave mentor is Maddy Probst, Managing Producer @Watershed, Bristol / Vice-President Europa Cinemas.

Milestones past and future

Late introduction of the 30% cash rebate in Poland has finally opened Poland for international film productions to be shot in the country. Additionally, current trends of original and national productions of the VOD platforms cause the need for more film professionals available on the market. Film Proxy will enable and facilitate such meetings and connections.

In the future Film Proxy will act as an ambassador of new Polish talent in the international film industry.