26.
02.
2018.
Department
Direction
Direction
/SEE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT/ Not only fairy tales, animated films and science fiction about robots conquering the galaxy. How to make GOOD FILMS FOR KIDS? On the1st of March we will have workshops for
As part of announced effort to make the transition from our School into professional work easier we plan on making two-part education event about making films for young audience – said the Dean of Direction Department – Piotr Mikucki.
Kids Films Project workshops about making films for a young audience, that will take place on 1st of March in our School and are dedicated to our students, are co-organised by the New Horizons Association Education department. Those workshops are aimed to students interested in making films for a young audience, in particular direction, screenwriting, production and animation students.
Polish cinemas almost exclusively screen Hollywood productions about toys, animals or robots conquering the galaxy or saving the world, while realistic films telling of child hero and his natural surrounding and his relations with peers and adults are absent. Meanwhile in Germany, In the Netherlands, Scandinavia, France, or even Czech Republic dozens of narrative films intended for kids are made yearly. The challenge of making films for children is telling a story suitable for a given age, while not infantile or overly simplifying the hero's psychology. We propose this challenge to our students – said Piotr Mikucki.
During the workshops students will meet with: Philip LaZebnik – screenwriter for films like "Mulan" and "Pocahontas", a tutor for the screenwriting workshops Films For Kids.Pro; Wojciech Stuchlik producer of "Behind the Blue Door" directed by Mariusz Palej, cooperating with companies like Platige Image and TFP and Maciej Jakubczyk - Head of the New Horizons Association educational and distribution Department.
The project does not end after the workshops on the 1st of March, quite the opposite. After the workshops we are waiting for applications from our students and graduates, who would like to develop their ideas for child oriented films under guidance of Philip LaZebnik. As a result of idea competition we will have 4 to 8 ideas qualifying for the workshops and then they will be further developed to the stage of treatment. There should be a director-screenwriter, director-producer or screenwriter-producer team behind every idea.
The aim is to develop 4-8 student projects done by 4-8 pairs of authors, that would participate in yearly session of Warsaw Kids Film Forum pitching in Autumn 2018, and later on they would be developed until applying for funds from the Polish Film Institute’s priority resources. In 2016 PFI (PISF) opened a priority fund and had allocated 10 million PLN for production of films for a young audience. The priority is for selected area (films for a young audience) and the funds that were given can not be used in other projects, which results in chances for a debut in this particular thematic area significantly higher than in others.
The projects developed during the last two editions of Films For Kids.Pro organised by the New Horizon Association education department received funding from the Polish Film Institute on multiple occasions. The first project developed during our workshops was "Double Trouble" directed by Marta Karwowska, production by Koi Studio, that had it’s premiere on 15th of September 2017 and the attendance was a success. New scripts are being made in our ongoing, third edition of the program.
Schedule of the workshops in the National Film School 1st of March, Thursday, Z building, room 102
10:30-11:30 lecture by Maciej Jakubczyk- "Kino dla dzieci w Polsce i Europie. Szanse i możliwości/Films For Kids in Poland and Europe: Chances and possibilities"
11:30-11:45 – coffee break
11:45-13:15 – masterclass by Philip LaZebnik - "The secrets of Walt Disney movies – tips and tricks to write films for kids". Attention: lecture in English only.
13:15-14:15 – lunch break
14:15-15:45 – a lecture by Wojciech Stuchlik "Trudności i wyzwania w tworzeniu filmów dla dzieci w Polsce"/"Difficulties and challenges in making films for kids in Poland"
15:45-16:00 – acknowledgments and closing
Attention: the workshops are open for students of every department of our School.
About guests of the workshops:
Philip LaZebnik
He worked on many projects in Los Angeles and Europe; initially he worked for Walt Disney Studios and DreamWorks as a screenwriter for Pocahontas, Mulan, The Prince of Egypt or The Road to El Dorado. For a few years he’s been living in Denmark where he writes and consults screenplays for films and television productions. He has been a tutor for Film For Kids.Pro since the first edition of this event.
Wojciech Stuchlik
Film producer: "Behind the blue door" directed by Mariusz Palej, cooperating with companies like Platige Image or TFP, currently he is developing and producing a few narrative films for a young audience and animated films.
Maciej Jakubczyk
Head of the New Horizons Association educational and distribution. Co-creator of New Horizons of Film Education being organised in several dozens of cities in Poland and Films For Kids Festival. Member of expert commission of Polish Film Institute evaluating the full-length films for young audience or families. Expert on Europa cinemas and lectures on SWPS University.
Kids Films Project workshops about making films for a young audience, that will take place on 1st of March in our School and are dedicated to our students, are co-organised by the New Horizons Association Education department. Those workshops are aimed to students interested in making films for a young audience, in particular direction, screenwriting, production and animation students.
Polish cinemas almost exclusively screen Hollywood productions about toys, animals or robots conquering the galaxy or saving the world, while realistic films telling of child hero and his natural surrounding and his relations with peers and adults are absent. Meanwhile in Germany, In the Netherlands, Scandinavia, France, or even Czech Republic dozens of narrative films intended for kids are made yearly. The challenge of making films for children is telling a story suitable for a given age, while not infantile or overly simplifying the hero's psychology. We propose this challenge to our students – said Piotr Mikucki.
During the workshops students will meet with: Philip LaZebnik – screenwriter for films like "Mulan" and "Pocahontas", a tutor for the screenwriting workshops Films For Kids.Pro; Wojciech Stuchlik producer of "Behind the Blue Door" directed by Mariusz Palej, cooperating with companies like Platige Image and TFP and Maciej Jakubczyk - Head of the New Horizons Association educational and distribution Department.
The project does not end after the workshops on the 1st of March, quite the opposite. After the workshops we are waiting for applications from our students and graduates, who would like to develop their ideas for child oriented films under guidance of Philip LaZebnik. As a result of idea competition we will have 4 to 8 ideas qualifying for the workshops and then they will be further developed to the stage of treatment. There should be a director-screenwriter, director-producer or screenwriter-producer team behind every idea.
The aim is to develop 4-8 student projects done by 4-8 pairs of authors, that would participate in yearly session of Warsaw Kids Film Forum pitching in Autumn 2018, and later on they would be developed until applying for funds from the Polish Film Institute’s priority resources. In 2016 PFI (PISF) opened a priority fund and had allocated 10 million PLN for production of films for a young audience. The priority is for selected area (films for a young audience) and the funds that were given can not be used in other projects, which results in chances for a debut in this particular thematic area significantly higher than in others.
The projects developed during the last two editions of Films For Kids.Pro organised by the New Horizon Association education department received funding from the Polish Film Institute on multiple occasions. The first project developed during our workshops was "Double Trouble" directed by Marta Karwowska, production by Koi Studio, that had it’s premiere on 15th of September 2017 and the attendance was a success. New scripts are being made in our ongoing, third edition of the program.
Schedule of the workshops in the National Film School 1st of March, Thursday, Z building, room 102
10:30-11:30 lecture by Maciej Jakubczyk- "Kino dla dzieci w Polsce i Europie. Szanse i możliwości/Films For Kids in Poland and Europe: Chances and possibilities"
11:30-11:45 – coffee break
11:45-13:15 – masterclass by Philip LaZebnik - "The secrets of Walt Disney movies – tips and tricks to write films for kids". Attention: lecture in English only.
13:15-14:15 – lunch break
14:15-15:45 – a lecture by Wojciech Stuchlik "Trudności i wyzwania w tworzeniu filmów dla dzieci w Polsce"/"Difficulties and challenges in making films for kids in Poland"
15:45-16:00 – acknowledgments and closing
Attention: the workshops are open for students of every department of our School.
About guests of the workshops:
Philip LaZebnik
He worked on many projects in Los Angeles and Europe; initially he worked for Walt Disney Studios and DreamWorks as a screenwriter for Pocahontas, Mulan, The Prince of Egypt or The Road to El Dorado. For a few years he’s been living in Denmark where he writes and consults screenplays for films and television productions. He has been a tutor for Film For Kids.Pro since the first edition of this event.
Wojciech Stuchlik
Film producer: "Behind the blue door" directed by Mariusz Palej, cooperating with companies like Platige Image or TFP, currently he is developing and producing a few narrative films for a young audience and animated films.
Maciej Jakubczyk
Head of the New Horizons Association educational and distribution. Co-creator of New Horizons of Film Education being organised in several dozens of cities in Poland and Films For Kids Festival. Member of expert commission of Polish Film Institute evaluating the full-length films for young audience or families. Expert on Europa cinemas and lectures on SWPS University.