Tango Production Turns 30
Tango Production is one of the most established production and production service houses in Poland and has been operating since 1993.
Julia Bidakowska Andrén, partner and executive producer working with Tango since 1999 shares her experiences as it turns 30.
Q> Tango has been a production service company for over 30 years. What do you think is the secret to your success?
Julia> The people we work with. Our staff is one of the keys to the success of our company. It’s very important for us to make the people we work with feel good and safe and so they want to stay with us for a long time. A lot of our staff have worked with us over 10 years and some even longer. Our goal is to create an environment where our clients feel they can trust that their budgets are fair and that our team delivers the best possible result in a friendly atmosphere.
Q> Tell us about some of your highlights over your time at Tango?
Julia> I have been at Tango since 1999 so there have been sooo many! You have to love what you do when working in this business otherwise you’ll fail both on a professional and a personal level.
Our highlights have ranged from winning a fantastic project that you have pitched over a duration of time or getting the chance to work with an amazing director. It’s always an added bonus becoming friends with the people you work with or getting honest, positive feedback once a challenging project is completed. Seeing clients return again and again because they value what you do is so rewarding!
Q> At a time where production companies come and go, what do you think is Tango’s formula for repeat business and getting new business?
Julia> The diversity of our locations (which still surprises people!), brilliant technical crews as well as production designers and wardrobe stylists. We have access to large studios and access to all equipment rentals possible. On top of that there are a variety of things to do 'after hours' - amazing restaurants, jazz clubs, cool shops so there’s plenty to do in your leisure time.
Q> More and more projects are coming to Poland. Why do you think this is?
Julia> All the above + a good currency exchange rate !
Q> What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced at Tango? And how did you overcome this?
Julia> Well, Covid to start with, but I guess that is the case for many companies around the world. If not for the state support that year we might have not survived. We were also initially quite badly affected by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. A lot of clients feared the war might spread over the country border and led their productions elsewhere. Fortunately that hasn’t been the case.
Q> How important is your company culture to the success of your business? And how have you managed to keep it alive over the years?
Julia> We truly like each other and get excited over each and every project. I think as we are not a 'service factory' we can really enjoy the projects we get assigned and do as much as we can to create the best quality. We are a company but with a 'homely' atmosphere who treat each other with great respect and humanity. We appreciate and respect people who have their own private lives, hobbies, families and we take that into a lot of consideration. There should always be a work/life balance.
Q> What are Tango’s goals for the future? What would you like the legacy of Tango to be?
Julia> We want to be a boutique service production house, serve clients big and small, work with amazing directors and dops, produce cool and exciting scripts and get even better with sustainability. We like a challenge and every production requires something new and extraordinary from us as producers. We want Tango to be perceived as an outfit that provides a quality guarantee and a sense of security for our partners.
