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EXCLUSIVE: The Polish Film Institute (PISF) is set to begin its search for a new director following the departure of Karolina Rozwód, who left the role late last year following a dispute about the allocation of production funds.
Deadline understands that the Institute is currently consulting local industry bodies, such as the Producers Guild of Poland, asking for feedback on the structure of the recruitment process, including the selection committee and expectations for the role. PISF did not respond to a request for comment.
Sources on the ground in Warsaw told us they welcome the PISF’s efforts to rejig the director role and hope it will bring a renewed focus on long-term policy. The successful candidate will be the Institute’s third director in seven years.
Rozwód was appointed in June 2024 but left the role around five months later. In an open letter, Rozwód set out her version of events, stating that she resigned, later withdrew her resignation but was ultimately forced out by Polish Culture Minister Hanna Wróblewska.
Wróblewska accused Rozwód of breaking Polish law after awarding funding to Aurum Film’s indie pic Altar Boys despite an ongoing investigation into financing previously handed to the production company by the PISF’s former boss, Radosław Śmigulski.
“Ms. Rozwód, knowing that the case was under the prosecutor’s scrutiny, paid out public funds. This should not have happened,” Wróblewska said. “Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, paying out funds in an ongoing case, with full knowledge of the situation and pending notifications, is a violation of the Public Finance Act.”
An attorney for Rozwód said in December that she plans to launch legal action over her departure.
Altar Boys finished shooting in November and is currently in post. The pic is directed by Piotr Domalewski. Aurum Film, a local powerhouse, was founded by producers Leszek Bodzak, Aneta Hickinbotham, and Agnieszka Dziedzic. The company is best known for pics like the Oscar-nominated Corpus Christi (2019) and the Venice competition entry Leave No Traces (2021).
In a statement, Aurum Film said: “PISF has filed a report of a suspected crime in connection with the [former] Director of PISF exceeding his powers, issuing a decision to award a subsidy to Aurum Film in violation of the regulations regarding the terms and deadlines for submitting applications. Almost four months after filing the report, PISF signed an agreement with us, the subject of which is the co-financing of the film Ministranci [Altar Boys], resulting from the decision that is the subject of the investigation. Moreover, PISF is fulfilling the obligations arising from this agreement, including the payment of 80% of the subsidy, which was allocated for the production of the film.
“Throughout the entire process of signing the agreement, Aurum Film never once received a signal that PISF was considering not signing it or that the subsidy was fraught with irregularities. We had no idea of any premises that could threaten the correctness of receiving the subsidy. We are now the subject of insinuations, stuck between public institutions and their strategies regarding the settlement of the former director of PISF.”
