Word2Picture

Word2Picture is a project that aims at boosting the dialogue between cinema and literature. Workshops, master classes, debates, pitches and one-on-one meetings are all set up to enable the creation and development of Polish and international productions based on books by outstanding Polish authors. We have already seen two editions of Word2Picture, filled to the brim with inspiring events.

The first edition took place in 2019 and was attended by Agnieszka Holland – the event’s special guest. The director talked about adapting Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead for the silver screen and her cooperation with the author, Olga Tokarczuk.

The publishers had an opportunity to participate in workshops conducted by Alicja Gawron-Jaksik, president of the Polish Audiovisual Producers Chamber of Commerce in Warsaw, who outlined the inner workings of the film market. Attorney Krzysztof Czyżewski talked in depth about film contracts.

The event programme was further complemented with a scriptwriting master class on the basics of adapting works for the silver screen, hosted by Agnieszka Kruk - scriptwriter, script coach, organiser of the Script Fiesta Festival organiser and member of jury of script competitions.

The meeting What makes the book a good film material? attended by Izabela Łopuch, HBO producer and Jakub Żulczyk, a well-known author and screenwriter, garnered some particular attention.

Despite the restrictions introduced in response to the pandemic, the 2020 edition offered a number of interesting events as well, with selected publishers taking part in a two-part training course. The first part was devoted to the theory and overview of the film market, and the practical part included meetings, during which the participants received tips needed to prepare a professional pitch.

Producers and other film industry representatives found out where to look for books with potential for adaptation during a special webinar organised together with KIPA. Some of the topics covered by the participants included the publishing market and talking to publishers.

Readers and film lovers also attended open debates, the first of which was devoted to the Król TV series, based on Szczepan Twardoch’s novel. The meeting was attended by the author himself and Anna Różalska, Director for Original Productions at Canal+. The second debate was attended by Jacek Dukaj, who talked about working on adaptations of his works.

One of the focal points of both editions of Word2Picture were pitching sessions, where publishers presented book projects, which were promising for film adaptations, leading to the development of two catalogues featuring books with an audiovisual future. Each directory pitches the story and potential audience for the selected titles.