Nearly 100 filmmakers, producers, and critics will gather in Łódź for the event from Thursday to Sunday.
The event will screen 61 feature films, including 26 premieres, and 91 shorts across three venues: Monopolis, the Leon Schiller National Film School and the Cinema Museum.
Organizers will present a special award to Romanian director Bogdan Mureșanu, a Venice laureate and winner of the FIPRESCI prize, given by the International Federation of Film Critics, for The New Year That Never Came. His film will screen at the Film School cinema, followed by a Q&A.
“Bogdan Mureșanu can draw deep emotion and meaning from simple situations,” festival director Malwina Czajka said. “His films point to the fact that history is a lived experience, and that quiet empathy can carry great strength.”
Czajka described the film as a portrait of a society on the cusp of change during the final days of the Ceaușescu regime.
Critic and author Łukasz Maciejewski will receive a special award for promoting film culture in Poland.
The distinction will be presented at Monopolis before a screening of Chopin, Chopin! After the film, Maciejewski will host a conversation with director Michał Kwieciński and production designers Katarzyna Sobańska and Marcel Sławiński.
This year’s program adds a stronger industry thread. Three public debates will examine audience expectations, the role of criticism in the social-media era, and practical steps to support Polish cinema.
Guests include Emi Buchwald, whose debut There Are No Ghosts in the Flat on Dobra Street won best directing in Gdynia, and producer Aneta Hickinbotham of Aurum Film, known for Corpus Christi and Ministranci.
The schedule features meetings with teams behind upcoming Polish releases such as Franz Kafka by Agnieszka Holland, Trzy miłości by Łukasz Grzegorzek, Dom dobry by Wojciech Smarzowski, Chopin, Chopin! by Michał Kwieciński, Życie dla początkujących by Paweł Podolski, and Ministranci by Piotr Domalewski.
Beyond screenings and talks, the program will engage festivalgoers with social activities, workshops, and wellness breaks.
Łódź is Poland’s major film hub, home to the country’s leading film school and a storied tradition of production, education, and criticism in cinema arts.
The festival is funded by Łódź City Hall, the Łódź regional government, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Polish Film Institute, and the University of Łódź.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP