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Warsaw Film Festival

Annual film festival held in Warsaw, Poland

Warsaw Film Festival

Summary

Annual film festival held in Warsaw, Poland

FieldValue
nameWarsaw Film Festival
imageWarsaw_Film_Festival_Logo.jpg
image_size200px
captionWarsaw International Film Festival logo
founded1985
hostWarsaw Film Foundation
dateOpening:
Closing:
last2025
number84
locationWarsaw, Poland
languagePolish
English
website
mainCurrent: 41st
previous40th
next42nd

Closing: English

Warsaw Film Festival (; WFF), also known as Warsaw International Film Festival, is an annual international film festival held every October in Warsaw, Poland.

The 40th edition of the festival took place from 11 to 20 October 2024. The 41st edition of the festival took place from 10 to 19 October 2025, and showcases 112 features and 56 shorts.

History

[[Palace of Culture and Science]] with a huge poster for Warsaw Film Festival

The festival has been held every year since 1985.

In 2008, it was recognised by FIAPF as an international competitive film festival.

;Timeline

  • 1985 – Film Discussion Club "Hybrydy" founds the festival, originally named Warsaw Film Week. Creator Roman Gutek becomes its first director
  • 1991 – Stefan Laudyn becomes new director of the festival and name Warsaw Film Week changes to Warsaw Film Festival
  • 1995 – organised by Warsaw Film Foundation for the first time
  • 2000 – festival gets accreditation from FIAPF and changes its name to Warsaw International Film Festival.
  • 2005 – for the first time, FIAPF jury gives special awards during Warsaw International Film Festival
  • 2008 – FIAPF adds Warsaw Film Festival to its list of international festivals, accredited as a competitive film festival specialised in first and second features and films from Central and Eastern Europe

Description

The festival is host to the International Federation of Film Critics awards for enterprising filmmaking in Central Europe and beyond.

Programmes

The programme consists of the following sections:

  • The International Competition – premiering competition for international features
  • 1–2 Competition – for 1st and 2nd feature films
  • Free Spirit Competition – competition for independent, innovative, rebellious feature length fiction and documentary films from all over the world.
  • Documentary Competition
  • Shorts Competition – For narrative, documentary and animated shorts (up to 40 minutes) from all over the world. Winners are Academy Awards eligible.
  • Special Screenings – non competitive section dedicated to acclaimed filmmakers from all over the world
  • Discoveries
  • Family Cinema Weekend

All the films presented, regardless of the section (competitive or non-competitive), are eligible for the Audience Award.

Juries

  • International Competition Jury
  • The Competition 1–2 Jury
  • Free Spirit Competition Jury
  • Documentary Competition Jury
  • Shorts Competition Jury
  • Jury FIPRESCI
  • Jury NETPAC
  • Ecumenical jury – by SIGNIS

Award winners

International Competition winners

;Warsaw Grand Prix (called the Grand Prix Nescafé from 2002 until 2007, 18th-23rd edition)

YearFilmOriginal titleDirectorCountry
2002EdiEdiPiotr TrzaskalskiPoland
2003With Love, Lilly(S luboviu, Lilia)Larisa SadilovaRussia
2004The Beautiful City(Shahr-e Ziba)Asghar FarhadiIran
2005Sorry for Kung FuOprosti za kung fuOgnjen SviličićCroatia
2006Euphoria(Eyforia)Ivan VyrypaevRussia
2007Night TrainYi'nan DiaoChina / Hong Kong / France
2008Yuri's Day(Yurev Den)Kirill SerebrennikovRussia / Germany
2009LourdesLourdesJessica HausnerAustria / France / Germany
2010IncendiesIncendiesDenis Villeneuve ≈Canada
2011RoseRóżaWojciech SmarzowskiPoland
2012Tango LibreTango LibreFrédéric FonteyneBelgium / France / Luxembourg
2013IdaIdaPaweł PawlikowskiPoland
2014The Coffin In the MountainXin YukunChina
2015Neon BullBoi NeonGabriel MascaroBrazil
2016Malaria(Malaria)Parviz ShahbaziIran
2017To Kill a WatermelonZehao GaoChina
2018The DelegationDelegacioniBujar AlimaniAlbania
2019ShindisiShindisiDito TsintsadzeGeorgia
202018 Kilohertz18 килогерцFarkhat SharipovKazakhstan
2021MiracleMiracolBogdan George ApetriRomania / Czech Republic / Latvia
2022May Labour DayPraznik radaPjer ŽalicaBosnia and Herzegovina
2023The Shadow of CatireLa sombra del CatireJorge Hernandez AldanaVenezuela / Mexico
2024TrafficReostatTeodora Ana MihaiRomania / Belgium / Netherlands

References

References

  1. (2024-01-25). "Main cultural events".
  2. (2017-03-01). "Most important festivals in Warsaw".
  3. Lazić, Manuela. (26 September 2024). "The 40th Warsaw Film Festival announces its programme".
  4. (19 September 2025). "Warsaw International Film Festival unveils new identity, new leadership and a packed line-up".
  5. "History".
  6. Frank, Alison. (2013-10-20). "29th Warsaw Film Festival".
  7. Kwiatkowski, Aleksander. (2018-08-16). "A Fascinating (Pre-)History".
  8. (2008). "FIAPF Accredited Festivals Directory". [[FIAPF]].
  9. Kozlov, Vladimir. (7 October 2010). "Warsaw Int’l Film Festival comes of age".
  10. "Warsaw International Film Festival".
  11. "Summary of Warsaw film festival".).
  12. (2024-10-20). "Historia". wff.pl.
  13. (2011-11-16). "Warsaw Film Festival".
  14. (2011-11-16). "Warsaw Film Festival".
  15. (2011-11-16). "Warsaw Film Festival".
  16. (2011-11-16). "Warsaw Film Festival".
  17. "22nd Warsaw International Film Festival - 2006".
  18. "25th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2009".
  19. "26th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2010".
  20. "27th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2011".
  21. "28th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2012".
  22. "29th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2013".
  23. "30th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2014".
  24. "31st Warsaw International Film Festival - 2015".
  25. "32nd Warsaw International Film Festival, Awards 2016".
  26. "33rd Warsaw International Film Festival - 2017".
  27. "34th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2018".
  28. "35th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2019".
  29. [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/warsaw-international-film-festival-shindisi-wins-grand-prix-1248927 Warsaw International Film Festival:'Shindisi' Wins Grand Prix. Hollywood Reporter]
  30. "Awards of the 36th Warsaw International Film Festival".
  31. "Awards of the 37th Warsaw International Film Festival".
  32. "Awards of the 39th Warsaw International Film Festival".
  33. "Awards of the 40th Warsaw International Film Festival".
  34. "Traffic".
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