The course

Who's who

Michael Karagosian, MKPE Founder and President

Michael Karagosian is the founder and president of MKPE Consulting, a consultancy for business development in cinema technology. His many accomplishments include the negotiation of virtual print fee deals in South America, Philippines, and Ireland. He served on the Board of Directors for In-Three, and advised the UK Film Council in the launch of the Digital Screen Network, the first public funding program for digital cinema conversion. For 11 years, he served as chief technology consultant to the National Association of Theatre Owners in the US. Earlier in his career, Mr. Karagosian co-founded the CinemAcoustics division of Peavey Electronics, and led the development of cinema and studio products at Dolby Laboratories where his first contribution was the introduction of 70mm split surround for the original release of "Apocalypse Now." He has chaired numerous committees in SMPTE's digital cinema effort, and currently co-chairs the 21DC High Frame Rate Study Group.

Marta Materska-Samek, President of Fundacja Rozwoju Kina
Marta Materska-Samek is a young researcher at the Faculty of Management and Social Communication of the Jagiellonian University (Cracow). She is preparing a thesis on a strategic innovation in local cultural institutions as a result of digitizing their cinemas. She is a graduate of the programme Doctus and a Scholarship and Training Fund scholar who received a research grant (Action III - Individual Mobility Grants). The grant was awarded for the purpose of studying local cinemas in Norway. Being an experienced project manager and a specialist in the cinema management field, she works as President of the Cinema Development Foundation and as a project manager. She runs "the Malopolska D-cinemas Network", which is the first regional d-cinema project co-financed by European Fund for Regional Development as well as "Culture our business" focused on development of creative industries in Southern Poland.
Anna Sienkiewicz-Rogowska, Head of the Department of Education and Dissemination of Film Culture, The Polish Film Institute
A graduate of the Kozminski University in Warsaw and of the Management Department at Cracow's University of Economics, Anna has worked in banking, in the sector of capital operations, and as a marketing expert. As a cultural events organiser, she has participated in the preparation, promotion and organisation of many cultural events, including the Impressionist Exhibition "From Manet to Gaugin", as well as the TRANSALPINUM exhibition at the National Museum. She has also played an important role in organising many special events for various commercial entities. Between 2001 and 2005 Anna was the producer of the Film and Art Festival "Film Summer", and has also co-operated in the production of documentary films. She gives lectures at Warsaw University on management in the culture sector. Since 2008 she has been the head of the Department of Education and Dissemination of Film Culture at the Polish Film Institute. She supervises the implementation of educational programmes, such as the "School Filmotheque" addressing secondary schools and the Polish Film Academy addressing university students. She is responsible for the system of subsidies for film schools and other institutions conducting film education programmes. She is also responsible for projects connected with the development of cinematic activities, including the improvement of infrastructure and digitisation, and for co-operation in the implementation of the national digitisation strategy for the audiovisual archives. She manages a team dealing with the national promotion of Polish cinematography, art house cinemas and film clubs.
Peter Bosma, independent programmer, researcher, teacher

Peter Bosma (1960) studied Dutch Literature and Film Studies at the University of Utrecht. After his graduation in 1986 he initiated and coordinated the Open University Introductory Course to Film Studies. His fascination with film art led him to join the ranks of professionals in cinema exhibition as co-programmer for the art-house cinema LantarenVenster (Rotterdam), a position which he held for twenty years. He focused on presenting film heritage, especially silent films. Eventually he returned to teaching film history and film analysis at art academies and cultural management at the University of Utrecht. At the moment he is a full-time freelance researcher eager to explore the new possibilities and battle the constraints of digital projection. His professional experience covers three different domains: Film Exhibition (organizing special programs in a cinema); Higher Education (lecturing on film history and its institutional context; reflections on arts management and marketing); Research on subjects such as the practice of cinema exhibition and the presentation of film heritage, exploration of the range of cinema art and its critical discourse (especially the significance of the highlights of silent cinema). Website: www.peterbosma.info.

Goran Stojmenovik, Product Manager Projection, Barco

Goran Stojmenovik is Product Manager within Barco's Projection division.
He works on the introduction of laser projection in the Cinema and other Barco markets.
With focus on image quality as well as user experience, Goran has managed different products in Barco since early 2005. Initially he was responsible for professional LCD monitors and software solutions for various Barco professional markets (control rooms, broadcast and post-production).
In September 2011 Goran started at Barco Digital Cinema where he worked on introducing dedicated projectors for post production as well as on remote service solutions for Cinema (CineCare Web).

Before joining Barco, Goran Stojmenovik acquired a PhD degree in Engineering Physics at the Gent University, Belgium.
He is based in Belgium.

Marco Fraschini, Projection Manager and Service Engineer, "Le Giraffe" Multiplex

Marco Fraschini studied Arts, Letters and History of Cinema at the University of Pavia.
In 1999 he entered a projection booth for the first time, and hardly ever left it again. Since 2004 he has been Projection Manager and Service Engineer for "Le Giraffe" Multiplex, located just outside Milan, and at present he is following the transition from 35 mm film to Digital Cinema and is in charge of managing the switch-off. For 15 years he has worked with film projectors (from 8 to 70 mm) and several kinds of Digital equipment (Barco, Christie, Nec, QuVis, Dolby, Doremi, GDC...)
He is working to make this a soft transition, and has opened up the projection booth in order to share his experience on how projection has been since 1895 and how it will be in the future with students and ordinary people.
He is passionate about open-air cinema and since 2003 has been Projection Manager for the Milano Film Festival, an international event in which he projects and runs a 1000-people Film Arena in Parco Sempione.
He is a proud technician with a humanistic education. Research and passion are the impulses that drive him.

Agnieszka Odorowicz, General Director of the Polish Film Institute
A graduate and employee of Cracow's Academy of Economics (Akademia Ekonomiczna), in 1998 she became Vice-President of the Art Institute Association (Stowarzyszenie Instytut Sztuki) in Cracow.
She has been artistic director of the Student Song Festival and of the Krzysztof Penderecki International Competition for Contemporary Chamber Music.
Since 2001, she has been a member of the academic staff at the Chair of Commerce and Market Institutions of the Academy of Economics in Cracow and a lecturer in sales analysis, territorial marketing, and culture management.
In 2002, appointed as Representative of the University Chancellor for the creation of the Centre for Development and Promotion (CRIP) and Director of the Centre for Development and Promotion of the Academy of Economics in Cracow.
She was appointed Representative of the Minister of Culture for Structural Funds in 2003.
In 2004, she became Secretary of State at the Ministry of Culture and was then appointed by the Prime Minister to the post of Chair of the Working Group for Radio and Television Development Strategy.
Since 2005, she has been General Director of the Polish Film Institute.
She's the author of TV programmes and librettos, as well as co-author of various publications in the field of cultural economics.

Petr Vítek, Director, Pro-DIGI o.s.
Petr Vítek has been active in the field of film exhibition for more than 16 years. He is co-founder of the legendary Prague based arthouse cinema Aero, and a member of the team managing other arthouse cinemas: Světozor and Bio Oko. He's a technical consultant for the distribution company Aerofilms.
Since 2008, Petr Vítek has been director of Pro-DIGI, a civic association focusing on the digitization of the film industry in the Czech Republic. Pro-DIGI runs a webzine at
www.digitalnikino.cz, and organizes vocational training for cinema managers and technicians.
He was a member of the MEDIA Programme and the Czech Ministry of Culture's experts committees for digitization.

In 2012, he became the director of Bio Central, a single-screen arthouse cinema in Hradec Králové.

In 2012, Petr Vítek was elected chairman of the Council of the Czech State Cinema Fund.
Emidio Frattaroli, Editor-in Chief of AV Magazine

Emidio Frattaroli is founder, publisher and Editor-in-Chief of AV Magazine (avmagazine.it), the daily online magazine in Italy on audio and video. He is among the leadinginternationalexperts in photometry and image reproduction technologies in the consumer and professional fields. He has been working for 15 years with the leading audio and video magazines both in Italy and Europe. He constantly provides consulting and training in the consumer electronics industry, ProAV, Broadcast and cinema fields. As a journalist he attends various events and the most important audio and video tradeshows and seminars in Europe, the USA and Asia.

Jan Petersen, CTO at Nordisk Film Cinemas

Jan Petersen has many years of experience in the field of Information Technology, both in development, networking and server infrastructure.
Besides his IT work, he worked in the routine running of cinemas from 1987 to 1997, as cashier and assistant theater manager.
He rejoined Nordisk Film Cinemas in 2002 as IT manager with digital cinema added to his responsibilities in 2004.
In 2004 he implemented the first digital cinema systems, making Nordisk Film Cinemas a front runner in digital cinema.
He was appointed CTO in 2008 with full responsibility for the complete technology platform in Nordisk Film Cinemas.
In 2012 full digital roll out of digital cinema was completed, ending more than 90 years of analogue film projection.
He is a member of the UNIC technical committee.
He has taken part in DigiTraining Plus numerous times first as a student and later as a presenter.

Jan Runge, CEO of UNIC

Jan Runge is CEO of the International Union of Cinemas since 2011 and was responsible for the organisation's relocation from Paris to Brussels.He previously worked for two leading media industry consultancies in London and Brussels and advised the European Parliament as well as the European Commission on their future strategies to promote the European cinema sector. Jan also gained experience as a researcher and EU development manager with a German innovation agency and with a large telecommunications operator. He represents UNIC on the advisory board of the European Audiovisual Observatory and sits on the board of the European Digital Cinema Forum. He is also actively involved in several European Commission expert groups. Jan holds a BA from Liverpool John Moores University and an MSc from the London School of Economics. He speaks English, German and French.

Michael Tilios, Market Analyst/Statistician at Odeon S.A.
Michael Tilios started working for Odeon S.A. in 2004 in the Movie Distribution department, with the task of designing and creating a database in order to keep records and statistics of the cinema market in Greece. Ever since, he has been responsible for all market, sales and statistics analysis and market trends monitoring, as well as being reporting officer to all domestic and foreign bodies and studios. He is an expert on Greece's cinema market and involved in ongoing studies and analysis of the current and historical data.
At the same time he has gained 2 years of experience as a cinema manager in Odeon Cinemas (2007, 2008).
In 2012, in addition to his other duties, he was appointed Financial Controller for 20th Century Fox-Greece, a contracted business partner of Odeon for many years.
Laura Sipos, Cine-Mis Nonprofit Ltd.

Laura Sipos has been working at Cine-Mis Nonprofit Ltd. since the beginning of 2013, with responsibility for the general organization of the company's Jameson Cinefest International Film Festival Miskolc project, which is the region's most important international film festival. She deals specifically with the coordination of the programming and contacts with distributors. To celebrate the festival's 10th anniversary this year there will be numerous special screenings and an extremely colourful side program with round tables, conferences and concerts.
Cine-Mis Nonprofit Ltd.is an exhibitor managing two screens, as well as being a festival organizer. After the appearance of multiplex cinemas from 2001, the two-screen cinema shifted to an art-house profile, which it has maintained ever since. The screens are registered with the Hungarian National Film Office and must therefore comply with their criteria: for example a minimum 60% of programming must consist of art films. American blockbusters and 3D films can only be screened in the remaining time. However, the income from these films helps to support the company's cultural mission. Since digitization it has been possible to screen the films in the premiere period while this was not possible with traditional 35mm, which meant a long wait for audiences. National film days, premieres and thematic series of film are regularly organized.

The technical equipment in the theatre consists of:
- on the Béke (small screen - 70 seats): Christie CP2210 Dolby server, installation date: since 2011
- on the Uránia (big screen - 140 seats): Barco DP2K-2 Dolby server with 3D, installation date: since 2012

Piotr Zakens, Cinema Rialto, Poznań (PL)

Piotr Zakens was born in 1974 and graduated in Polish Philology in 1998 from the Adam Mickiewicz University. He was deputy head of film distribution for Art-Film from 1999 to 2004 and has been the program director of the Cinema Rialto in Poznań since 2003.

He has been a member of the Arthouse Cinemas Network since 2006 and is an expert on the cinemas' digitisation programme.

He is President of the Association of Culture +, a member of the Poznań Society of Friends of Sciences and organizer of film events in the city. He has authored articles on film and cinema and is one of the creators of the program Wielkopolska Media Education. In 2012 he won the Medal for Young Art.

Jolanta Myszka, Cinema Rialto, Poznań (PL)

Jolanta Myszka - born in 1969; studied history at Adam Mickiewicz University; since 2003 she has been joint manager of the Cinema Rialto in Poznań. She has created the program Wielkopolska Media Education and she acts as coordinator.

She is a projectionist and a member of the Association Kultura +.

In 2007 she took part in the CICAE training programme run at San Servolo, Venice.

 
Riccardo Bizzarri, Cinema Zenith

Riccardo Bizzarri was born in Perugia on 04/11/1961; he received his degree in Letters (specializing in anthropology) in 1993, at the Faculty of Humanities of the Universityof Perugia, with a final result of 110/110 with honors. His thesis in cultural anthropology is entitled "The cross-cultural journey in the theater of Peter Brook."

In 1996 he began working in the field of cinema both as an organizer of cultural events, and in the field of exhibition. In particular since 1996 he has been the manager of the Cinema Zenith of Perugia and since 2007 of the "Aren Aria" film arena.

He also managed the Cinema Pavone of Perugia (2000 - 2002); the Cinema Teatro Lyrick of Assisi (2001); the Cinema Teatro Concordia of Marsciano (2003) and the following film arenas: "Parco di Santa Margherita" (2000 - 2001); "Pila Estate Cinema" (2002 - 2006); "Marsciano" (2004).

Besides his main activity as a theatrical exhibitor, he works with the Association Casa delle Culture in collaboration with public entities like municipalities, schools and private foundations in the field of education. He organizes and runs internships, seminars and courses for students and teachers in the field of media education, media literacy and cinema language.

He took part in a two-year, European-funded project with 8 other organizations from 6 different countries.

He also runs a restaurant located below the movie theatre Cinema Zenith, which provides a stimulating environment for cultural exchanges.

Riccardo Bizzarri's latest challenge is in the field of movie production. With his company Zenith he has produced his first short film entitled "Volata" and is now working on turning it into a full-length feature film.

   
Mark Waldman, Director European Customer Services, dcinex
Mark is currently the Director of European Customer Support (20 technicians, 500 customers, 5,000 cinema screens across Europe) for dcinex. His recent efforts include the implementation of processes to ensure fast and effective problem resolution and communication. In parallel, Mark Waldman published several articles about IT Support for digital cinema.
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Sciences from State University of New York at Binghamton, he worked as a Programmer, Sales and Marketing Manager and Senior Technical Trainer in New York City for 10 years.
In 1997, he joined Epicor Software as Director of EMEA Client Training, based in Russia and then Budapest. Following that, from 2002 to 2011, Mark served as IT Services Director for the Palace Cinemas Central Europe Group (acquired by Cinema City International in 2011) where he helped to the transition the cinemas from analog to digital technology.
   
Piotr Wyrobiec, Cinema Centrum - Wadowice Cultural Centre

Piotr Wyrobiec, born in 1966, graduated in History from the Jagiellonian University. At first he worked as a history teacher and journalist. In 1995 he became the manager of the Municipal Museum in Wadowice and in 2000 the manager of the Cultural Centre in Wadowice. He has founded the historical and cultural magazine entitled 'Wadoviana'. He is now one of its editors.

He is also a member of the Kraków Forum Management, a nation-wide association of professionals working in the cultural sector.

   
Robert Brzeziński , General Technical and Maintenance Manager, Multikino S.A.

Robert Brzeziński graduated from Warsaw University of Technology, Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering.

He has been employed at Multikino since 1998 when the first multiplex in Poland was opened. He is responsible for booth equipment, the cinema's technical staff, maintenance agreements, modernization and repairs of cinemas. From 2007 to 2011 he coordinated the full digitalization of Multikino cinemas.

   
Mariusz Spisz, Sales & Marketing Director, Multikino S.A., CEO, Multikino Media Sp. z o.o.
He graduated from the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) and the School of Brand Strategy. For 10 years he has been associated with the cinema market. Since 2007 he has been Marketing Director and since 2009 Sales and Marketing Director at Multikino S.A. Since January 2012 he has also been President of the Board of Multikino Media Sp. z o.o., the second largest cinema advertising broker in Poland.