PKN ORLEN and UNIPETROL - partners of the 41st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
From June 30 to July 8, Karlovy Vary is hosting its well known film festival. This is the most important Category A international film festival in Central and Eastern Europe, and the only Category A festival in the Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary IFF is open to the public and is visited by thousands of people every year. More than 200 new films from around the world are presented annually. The partners of this year’s film festival will be PKN ORLEN and Unipetrol, both members of the ORLEN Group – a major regional oil company.
The Karlovy Vary IFF is one of the oldest film festivals (the first took place in 1946). Each year the festival attracts thousands of visitors, especially young people. The festival is also very popular with celebrities, so every year big stars from both European and Hollywood cinematography are present at the festival.
Unipetrol has a long tradition of supporting the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The cooperation started in 2000 and, because it was a highly satisfactory experience for both sides, it continued on two more occasions, in 2001 and 2005. This year, Unipetrol is brought in its major shareholder, PKN ORLEN, as another sponsor of the event.
Since PKN ORLEN entered the Czech market after acquiring a majority stake in Unipetrol, PKN ORLEN has wanted to support not only Polish culture and art but also some of the major cultural events held in the Czech Republic. Its desire to sponsor European culture follows from the Group’s position as a leading player in the European economies, and reflects a Group with the major values of European culture incorporated into its mission and strategy. This consideration will determine PKN ORLEN´s further activities in the new economic environment, as the burden for supporting artistic activities will fall upon big and financially strong organizations, such as PKN ORLEN and Unipetrol, who feel a responsibility for the destiny and development of national cultures.
Realizing its mission as a Patron of Culture, PKN ORLEN has given support to a range of events. The most recent cultural project held in Czech Republic was PKN ORLEN’s partnership of the Charles IV – Emperor by the Grace of God Exhibition at Prague Castle, which became the Czech cultural event of the year. In 2004 PKN ORLEN was the partner of the “Ostře sledované filmy festival (Closely Watched Movies)” which presented Czech and Slovak films from the golden era of the 60´s and 70´s. The festival was under the patronage of former president Václav Havel. The company also co-financed the purchase of the precious manuscript of Fryderyk Chopin in 2004 and sponsored the XV International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in 2005. For the last few years PKN ORLEN has been the patron of the National Museum in Warsaw, which owns the biggest and most precious collections of art in Poland. PKN ORLEN also supported the renovation of Gdańsk Old Town and restored the medieval prints of the Diocese Museum in Płock, just to name a few other projects.
Unipetrol´s sponsorship of cultural events can be seen in projects such as Struny podzimu (Strings of Autumn) - a cycle of prestigious concerts of both classical and modern music, its support for the publication of Arnošt Lustig´s book Krásné zelené oči (Pretty Green Eyes), financing exhibits for the National Gallery, supporting the NKL Žofín agency which organizes concerts both in the Czech Republic and abroad, and sponsoring Helena Vondráčková´s mega-party to celebrate 40 years in show business, to name but a few.
About PKN ORLEN:
PKN ORLEN is Central Europe’s biggest oil company, with its headquarters in Poland. With an income of EUR9bn in 2005, the Group emerged as the largest company in the group of new EU accession states. As such, PKN ORLEN is aiming for a major role in the regional consolidation of the oil industry in Central Europe. With this intention, the company last year bought 63% of petrochemical holding Unipetrol for EUR434mn (CZK13bn) from the Czech state. PKN ORLEN operates over 2,700 petrol stations in Europe – directly or through subsidiaries – and owns the refinery at Płock in Poland, which is one of the most efficient and modern refineries in Europe. PKN ORLEN’s shares are traded on the Warsaw and London stock exchanges. The ORLEN Capital Group includes some 80 subsidiaries and employs over 14,000 people. About Unipetrol:
Unipetrol consists of a group of companies operating in the chemical sector in the Czech Republic. Group companies are primarily engaged in crude oil processing, fuel distribution, and the production of petrochemicals and fertiliser. In all of these fields, Unipetrol is a major representative of each industrial sector in the Czech Republic and in Central Europe. In accordance with the original concept, the Czech State’s share was privatized on June 4th, 2004, when the representatives of the National Property Fund and PKN ORLEN signed the contract regarding the sale of shares of UNIPETROL, a.s. In May 2005 the share of the National Property Fund was transferred into the hands of PKN ORLEN. This has resulted in a the regional consolidation of Central European companies with the aim of becoming a competitive player in the global market.
