Tauron American Film Festival Sets 17th Edition for November
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- Tauron American Film Festival celebrates its 17th edition Nov. 17-22 in Wrocław, Poland, with its U.S. in Progress industry sidebar connecting American indie filmmakers to Polish post-producers and European buyers.
- Director Rob Rice attended U.S. in Progress three times and collaborated with Polish post-production studio XANF on "Ponderosa" (featuring Alexis Bledel), which screened at Tribeca.
- Filmmaker Pete Ohs ended up shooting the Charli XCX-starring "Erupcja" in Poland after his U.S. in Progress attendance, in what festival participants describe as a long-running streak of collaborations.
- The festival has shifted focus since the pandemic away from market presentations toward post-production contacts, with submissions opening in July and up to five filmmaker collaborations enabled per year.
- Alumni successes include "Bunnylovr" (Katarina Zhu and Rachel Sennott), Georgia Bernstein's Sundance thriller "Night Nurse," and Jane Schoenbrun, whose latest film opened the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.
- Festival director Ula Śniegowska aims to position Polish post-production companies as competitive alternatives to studios in the Czech Republic and Hungary on the European market.
- Producer Tristan Scott-Behrends called the program "an essential part of the fabric of American independent cinema," saying its cash prizes can make a huge difference in tight post-production budgets.
Why it matters: For cash-strapped American indie filmmakers, U.S. in Progress funds up to five post-production collaborations per year with Polish studios, with alumni credits including Tribeca and Cannes premieres—positioning Wrocław's post-production sector against established Czech and Hungarian competitors.
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