The annual "Defiant, Unvanquished, Enduring" Film Festival, now in its 18th year, is inspired by the history of the country's struggle for freedom from 1939 to 1989.
The event, which runs until October 4, focuses on freedom and contemporary history, bringing together international filmmakers whose work explores paths to independence, organisers said.
This year's festival includes nearly 50 documentaries in its main competitions. A new feature is the short film competition for films lasting 15 to 30 minutes.
Festival director Arkadiusz Gołębiewski said the organisers were positively surprised by the large number of entries.
"Young filmmakers are changing the way they communicate. In short-form films, they tell stories about relationships, anxieties and trauma. Both fiction and documentary films will be shown in this category," he said.
The festival will also feature Hungarian films to mark the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
"We will also recall Hungarian filmmakers who documented those events at great personal risk and later secretly smuggled the footage out of Hungary, including Vilmos Zsigmond and László Kovács," Gołębiewski said.
Events are being held at the Gdynia Film Centre and Grunwaldzki Square, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Awards will be presented during the festival, with the final gala on Saturday.
The main award in the Polish documentary competition is the Złoty Opornik (Golden Resistor), while the Platynowy Opornik (Platinum Resistor) is awarded for lifetime achievement.
Other awards include the Witold Pilecki Award in the international documentary competition and the Janusz Krupski Award in the Polish documentary competition.
Honorary distinctions include the Sygnet Niepodległości (Independence Signet) for witnesses to history and Drzwi do Wolności (Door to Freedom) for people who supported members of the independence underground from behind the scenes.
The fiction section includes Gołębiewski's directorial debut Apolonia and Lech Majewski's 12 obrazów zniewolenia.
Guests include musician Józef Skrzek, actors Henryk Talar and Piotr Cyrwus and filmmaker Lech Majewski.
The screenings are accompanied by debates, workshops and a new technologies zone featuring computer games and VR films.
Gołębiewski said festival films are also shown throughout the year in Poland and abroad as part of retrospectives.
The festival also runs a Film Academy, which organises scriptwriting workshops for historical and freedom-themed fiction and documentary films with the help of established directors and screenwriters.
He stressed that participation in the workshops, academy and festival is free of charge.
The event is organised by the Scena Kultury Association and the City of Gdynia. It is being held under the auspices of President Karol Nawrocki.
(sp/gs)
Source: PAP