41st Warsaw International Film Festival opens for submissions - deadline - July 31

The 41st edition of Warsaw International Film Festival (WFF) is planned October 10-19, this year. WFF is accredited by FIAPF as a non-specialised competitive film festival.

We are open for submissions of:
- fiction features
- documentary features
- shorts (of 40 min or less): live action, animation, documentaries.

Regular deadline: July 15
Late deadline: July 31

WFF has six competitive sections with international juries and cash awards, including a 100,000 PLN (over 20,000 euro) Warsaw Grand Prix, funded by the Mayor of Warsaw.

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Bartłomiej Pulcyn, the new program director of the Warsaw Film Festival

The Warsaw Film Festival, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, is beginning a new chapter in its history – Bartłomiej Pulcyn, who had been associated with the WFF for many years in the past, has just taken over the position of programming director of the festival. The managing director and producer of the Festival is Joanna Szymańska-Szcześniak. This year's, 41st Warsaw Film Festival will take place on October 10-19, 2025.

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Winners of the Audience Award at the 40th Warsaw Film Festival

Here are the films, which were liked the most by the audience of the 40th Warsaw International Film Festival, which came to an end yesterday:

A. Fiction features:
1. Where Do We Begin, dir Monika Majorek, Poland
2. Bucha, dir Stanislav Tiunov, Ukraine
3. Lioness, dir Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo, Estonia / Germany / Latvia
4. Kulej. All That Glitters Isn’t Gold, dir Xawery Żuławski, Poland
5. Black Dog, dir Guan Hu, China

B. Filmy dokumentalne:
1. War Correspondent, dir Benjamin Tuček, David Čálek, Czech Republic / Ukraine / Slovakia
2. Soldiers of Song, dir Ryan William Smith, Ukraine
3. A Sentimental Journey to the Parajanov Planet, dir Taras Tomenko, Ukraine
4. Ice Maiden, dir Nathaniel C. T. Jackson, James Blannin-Ferguson, Australia / New Zealand
5. Made In Ethiopia, dir Xinyan Yu, Max Duncan, Canada / Ethiopia / US / UK

C. Filmy krótkometrażowe:
1. Tiger Soup, dir Kacper Świtalski, Poland
2. Stimulants And Empathogenes, dir Mateusz Pacewicz, Poland
3. All That Remains, dir Andrei Redinciuc, Romania
4. First Frames, dir Ilie Mitaru, Türkiye / US / Netherlands
5. Service, dir Michał Edelman, Poland

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Awards of the 40th Warsaw International Film Festival

1. INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION Jury members Maryna Er Gorbach (Ukraine), Oana Iancu (Romania), Anna Kazejak (Poland), Vinko Brešan (Croatia), Alberto Triano (Spain) gave the following awards:
1.1. Warsaw Grand Prix went to TRAFFIC / REOSTAT by Teodora Ana Mihai, Romania / Belgium / Netherlands
The Warsaw Grand Prix includes 100,000 zlotys cash award, funded by the Mayor of Warsaw.
1.2. Award for the Best Director went to CHAOS AND SILENCE / CHAOS UND STILLE dir. Anatol Schuster (Germany)
1.3. Special Jury Award went to for Screenwriter : Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo LIONESS / EMALÕVI (Estonia / Germany / Latvia)

2. COMPETITION 1-2 [AWARD FOUNDED BY HORTEX] Jury members Anna Machukh (Ukraine), Katalin Moldovai (Hungary), Grzegorz Jaroszuk (Poland) decided that the Competition 1-2 Winner is 
IN GOOD FAITH / GOTTESKINDER by Frauke Lodders (Germany)
Special Mention went to: TOMORROW I DIE by Nikol Cibulya (Hungary)

3. CREME DE LA CREME COMPETITION Jury members Mira Staleva (Bulgaria), Marcin Wierzchosławski (Poland), Taras Dron (Ukraine), gave the following awards:
Crème de la Crème Award: BLACK DOG by Guan Hu (China)
Special Mention: RED PATH by Lotfi Achour (Tunisia / France / Belgium / Poland)

4. FREE SPIRIT COMPETITION [AWARD FOUNDED BY OMENAART FOUNDATION]
Jury members Stefanie Kolk (Netherlands), Alex Kaelinn (Switzerland), Rainer Sarnet (Estonia) gave the Free Spirit Award to: THE BLACK HOLE by Moonika Siimets (Estonia, Finland)
Special Mention: LUMP by Alexandre Rockwell (USA)

5. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION Jury members Asia Dér (Hungary), Olga Špátová (Czech Republic), Sławomir Kalwinek (Poland) gave the following awards:
The Best Documentary Feature Award was won by: WAR CORRESPONDENT by Benjamin Tuček, David Čálek (Czech Republic / Ukraine / Slovakia)
Special Mention: MADE IN ETHIOPIA by Xinyan Yu, Max Duncan (Canada / Ethiopia / USA / UK)
Special Mention: BEYOND ROCK BOTTOM by Ádám Miklós (Hungary)

6. SHORT FILMS COMPETITION Jury members Ali Asgari (Iran), Nicole Waszak Mendez (USA), Kamila Tarabura (Poland) gave the following awards:
6.1. Short Grand Prix: SERVICE by Michał Edelman (Poland)
6.2. Best Live Action Short: ALL THAT REMAINS by Andrei Redinciuc (Romania)
6.3. Best Animated Short: MAUTINI by Tabarak Allah Abbas (Switzerland)
6.4. Best Documentary Short: RUN MONNIE, RUN by Karolina Biesiacka (Poland)
6.5. Special Mention Live Action: AMOS, VOGEL by Iñaki Salvador García Miranda (Mexico)
The winners of the four awards above can run for the Academy Awards, as the Short Films Competition at the Warsaw International Film Festival is on the Oscars eligibility lists at www.oscars.org.

7. FIPRESCI Jury members Alessandro Amato (Italy), Leo Ortuno (France), Marcin Radomski (Poland) gave the award for best debut from Eastern Europe to the film 
INK WASH by Sarra Tsorakidis (Romania / Greece / Denmark)

8. Young FIPRESCI Jury members Evgenija Arsova (Macedonia), Pavla Banjac (Serbia), Volodymyr Chernyshev (Ukraine), Tobiasz Dunin (Poland), Anastasiya Stoeva (Bulgaria), who were also participants of FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project 2024, gave the Young FIPRESCI Award for best debut from Eastern Europe to the film: 
THE CROSSROADS by Dominika Montean-Pańków (Poland)

9. ECUMENICAL Jury members Jean-Luc Gadreau (France), Marianna Kavka (Ukraine), Anna Woźniak-Kot (Poland) gave the Ecumenical Jury Award to: 
BITTER GOLD by Juan Francisco Olea (Chile / Mexico / Uruguay / Germany)
Honorable Mention: MY LATE SUMMER by Danis Tanović (Croatia / Bosnia and Herzegovina / Romania / Slovenia / Serbia)

10. NETPAC Jury members Viera Langerova (Slovakia), Nada Azhari Gillon (Syria/France), Jakub Popielecki (Poland) gave the NETPAC Award for the best Asian/Pacific film to:
BLACK DOG by Guan Hu (China)

40 Warszawski Międzynarodowy Festiwal Filmowy, organizowany przez Warszawską Fundację Filmową, jest wspierany przez Urząd Miasta Stołecznego Warszawy, Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej, Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego oraz Samorząd Województwa Mazowieckiego.
Nasi Sponsorzy i Partnerzy: Hortex, Filmoteka Narodowa - Instytut Audiowizualny, K MAG, Epson, Goethe-Institut, Fabryka Wyobraźni, Omenaa Foundation, Kulturalna, Bar Studio, KIPA, Tango Production.
Partnerzy Medialni: Filmweb, Wyborcza.pl, Pełna Sala, RMF, RMF Classic, SundanceTV, AMC, Film Cafe i Wirtualna Polska.
Kina festiwalowe: Kinoteka / Atlantic / Iluzjon.
Oficjalne samochody Mercedes Benz zapewnia MB Motors.
Hotel festiwalowy: Presidential Hotel Warszawa.
contact: media@wff.pl
 

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