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LMGI COMPASS
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Fall 2019
IN MY CITY: ŁÓDŹ
Union, we renovated lots of buildings and streets. So if I
want to keep my location base up to date, each time before
sending any pictures older than six months, I need to do a
recce to be sure that nothing has changed too much. On
the set, the main challenge is the parking space for the
crew and camps. It seems like every year, base camps are
getting bigger and bigger, and the available parking space
has shrunk.
Stevie: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITES OR MOST MEMORABLE FILMING
EXPERIENCES?
MS:
The biggest and most memorable filming experience
has to be Cold War. The black-and-white love story takes
the characters from Poland to Berlin, through Yugoslavia to
Paris. All Berlin and Paris interiors and Berlin streets were
shot in Poland. The number of locations and their historical
range, from the post-war villages in Poland to the Western
Europe in the 1960s, took me on an 18-month-long
journey through Poland and time. Beautiful landscapes,
old and amazing buildings, 60 000 km and temperatures
ranging from -27 degrees Celsius to +35 degrees Celsius,
all in one movie. I was happy to be nominated for an LMGI
Award for my work on this film.
Stevie: DOES POLAND OR THE CITY OF ŁÓDŹ OFFER ANY INCENTIVES
TO HOLLYWOOD FILMMAKERS?
MS:
In 2017, Łód´z joined the Unesco Creative Cities
Network as the City of Film. We have the Łód´z Film
Commission which, as a part of the local government
institutions, is intended to help filmmakers in Łód´z and
the region. In addition, an exceptional solution the city
is now offering is a 90 percent discount for closing one
roadway within city limits for filming. With this discount,
one square meter of roadway costs only PLN 0.30 (EUR
0.07) per day. Discounts and bonuses are not the only
instruments of financial support. Every year, productions
shot in Łód´z and the Łód´z region can apply for financing
from the Łód´z Film Fund. Additionally, as of 2019,
Poland offers 30 percent cash rebate on qualified Polish
spending in film production. The system is operated by
the Polish Film Institute. Reimbursement is available for
feature films, animations, documentaries and series. The
Photos
by
Michal
Sliwkiewicz/LMGI
