Warsaw Film Festival

Overview

The Warsaw Film Festival is Poland's most important international feature film festival. Founded in 1985 and held annually in October in Warsaw -- Poland's capital and largest city, a city rebuilt entirely from rubble after its near-total destruction in World War II -- the festival presents competitive international and Polish cinema.

Warsaw's extraordinary history -- its Old Town was painstakingly rebuilt brick by brick from historical records and Canaletto paintings after World War II, the only city in Europe to be so completely reconstructed -- gives the city a distinctive character of determination and cultural persistence. Films addressing reconstruction, resilience, and the relationship between memory and place find audiences in Warsaw with unusual personal resonance.

Poland's cinema tradition has produced internationally acclaimed directors including Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieslowski, and Roman Polanski, and Warsaw provides the most important domestic platform for continued Polish filmmaking excellence.

Key Sections

• International Competition -- films competing for jury prizes
• Polish Cinema Competition -- new Polish features
• Free Spirit -- formally adventurous international films
• Documentary Program -- nonfiction features
• Short Film Competition -- competitive short programs

What Filmmakers Should Know

Warsaw accepts open submissions. For Polish filmmakers, the festival is the most important Warsaw platform. The Free Spirit section creates specific programming context for formally ambitious work.

Major Awards

• Grand Prix Warsaw -- Best Film
• Special Jury Award
• Best Polish Film
• Audience Award

Festival History

Warsaw Film Festival was founded in 1985 and has operated through Poland's political transition and its emergence as a European cultural power.

See Also

For Polish cinema, see International Film Markets. For the Krakow Film Festival, see Krakow Film Festival.