The 34th Toruń CAMERIMAGE Festival kicks off on November 7 in north-central Poland's historic city of Toruń.
The opening gala will be followed by the screening of "Artificial", a new AI-oriented film directed by Luca Guadagnino - one of this year festival's esteemed guests and the creator of numerous critically acclaimed pictures, such as "Call Me by Your Name" and "Suspiria". The screening will be introduced by Guadagnino and cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed.
The creators and crew of "The Idiot(s)" - Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert, Aimee Lou Wood, and Johnny Flynn - will also appear in Toruń. The film, which had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, tells the story of Fyodor Dostoevsky and his wife Anna during their stay in Europe - a period that had a significant impact on the writer's life and work.
Fifteen films will compete in the 34th Toruń CAMERIMAGE Main Competition. Among them are Cannes winners "Fatherland" by Paweł Pawlikowski (cinematography by Łukasz Żal), "La Bola Negra" by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (cinematography by Gris Jordana), and "Minotaur" by Andrey Zvyagintsev (cinematography by Mikhail Krichman).
The line-up also includes Venice Festival hits "Woman Unknown" by May el-Toukhy (cinematography by Jasper Spanning) and "Wild Horse Nine" by Martin McDonagh (cinematography by Ben Davis), the Norwegian Oscar submission "Growth of the Soil" by Hans Petter Moland (cinematography by Oskar Dahlsbakken), and "Through the Wall" by Maciej Sobieszczański (cinematography by Jolanta Dylewska), which was recognized with the Golden Lions in Gdynia earlier this year.
The 2026 CAMERIMAGE Main Competition jury brings together an elite, diverse panel of global cinematographers, performers, and producers - led by an Academy Award-winning British editor Joe Walker, celebrated for his work on "Dune" and "Arrival". Other jury members are esteemed French cinematographer Robert Alazraki, prominent Polish actres Alicja Bachleda-Curuś, experienced film producer Leopold Hughes and veteran German cinematographer Johannes Kirchlechner.
Also, seven productions will compete in the Polish Feature Films Competition. The remaining competitions will name the best documentary features, TV series, music videos, directors' and cinematographers' debuts, documentary shorts, and student etudes from film and art schools.
The Polish Feature Films Competition entries will be judged by American cinematographer Sam Levy (jury president), American cinematographer Cioffi Henry, and German director Henning Rädlein.
The CAMERIMAGE organizers will also present special awards. Darren Aronofsky will be honored for his uncompromising style, distinctiveness, and expanding the boundaries of cinematic expression. The American filmmaker holds Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for "Black Swan", as well as a Golden Lion for "The Wrestler". One of his latest films, "The Whale", starring Brendan Fraser, earned him a special prize at the Venice Film Festival. Aronofsky will also conduct a directing workshop in Toruń.
Joe Walker will accept the award for film editing. The Oscar winner for Denis Villeneuve’s "Dune" and European Film Award winner for Steve McQueen’s "Shame" has also collaborated with the likes of Ridley Scott, Kevin Macdonald, Nora Fingscheidt, and Michael Mann.
Furthermore, the festival will honor Hype Williams for his achievements in the field of music videos. The American director and visual artist has directed music videos for artists including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Kanye West, and Mariah Carey.
The THR Visionary in Cinematography Award will go to Janusz Kamiński, a long-time collaborator of Steven Spielberg, and a two-time Oscar winner for his work on the American director's pictures "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan".
The award for outstanding achievements in the art of acting will be given to Jan Englert, the long-standing director of the National Theatre in Warsaw, whose artistic legacy spans over 150 theatre roles, 100 film roles, over 200 television roles, and more than 30 theatre productions and 35 Television Theatre plays. One of Englert's latest productions, "Hamlet", can still be seen on the national stage.
The recipient of the film editing award will be Milenia Fiedler, the rector of the Łódź Film School. Meanwhile, actresses Maja Komorowska and Karolina Gruszka will be honored with Film Awards from the Marshal of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The year 2026 was designated by the Senate of the Republic of Poland as the Year of Andrzej Wajda - and events commemorating the director will also feature prominently in Toruń.
The 34th Toruń CAMERIMAGE International Film Festival will run until Saturday, November 14. The festival's closing film will be "Elsinore" by Simon Stone, starring Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman, Joe Locke, and Johnny Flynn.
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Source: PAP