The programme features some of the season's most anticipated titles, including Cristian Mungiu's "Fiord" and Ilker Catak's "Yellow Letters". Of the total, 102 are international, world or regional premieres, according to festival director general Joanna Szymanska-Szczesniak.
"The Warsaw International Film Festival has more than 40 years of history. We respect this tradition very much, but at the same time we want it to keep developing, opening up to new places, new filmmakers, new ideas", she said at the opening gala at the Museum of the History of Poland.
Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska said curiosity about the world remains the festival's foundation, and that cinema offers an antidote to insular thinking.
"We live in a time when it is very easy to close ourselves in our own bubble", she said. Cinema, she added, "works the opposite way".
She said she hoped audiences would leave screenings reluctant to check their phones. "I wish you films after which you will want to stay in your seat a little longer", she said.
"Debut", from the director of "A Real Pain", follows Mona, played by Moore, who after years of organising the lives of those around her decides to pursue a dream of performing in theatre. Her children are grown and her husband prefers work or time with friends. A non-professional with little experience, she is undeterred, and comes to treat her theatre troupe as family.
A second opening film, Hans Petter Moland's "Growth of the Soil", Norway's Oscar entry, screens Friday. It tells of a man with no past who tries to build a life on a barren plot of land in the Norwegian mountains, where he meets a solitary woman.
Fifteen films are vying for the Warsaw Grand Prix in the international competition, among them Sam McConnell's "Test", Vaclav Marhoul's "Confession" and Poland's "Through the Wall" by Maciej Sobieszczański. The jury includes Romanian-Belgian director Teodora Ana Mihai, Uruguayan-Mexican director Rodrigo Pla, American producer Preston Lee and Polish actress Weronika Książkiewicz.
Separate competitions cover debut and second features, documentaries and short films.
The festival runs through Sunday, October 18, at cinemas and venues across Warsaw, including the Atlantic, Luna and Iluzjon cinemas and Varso Tower.
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Source: PAP
Click on the audio player above for a report by Agnieszka Bielawska