Warsaw Film Festival (Polish: Warszawski Festiwal Filmowy; WFF), also known as Warsaw International Film Festival, is an annual international film festival held every October in Warsaw, Poland.[1][2]

Warsaw Film Festival
Warsaw International Film Festival logo
LocationWarsaw, Poland
Founded1985
Most recent2024
Hosted byWarsaw Film Foundation
No. of films84
Festival dateOpening: October 11, 2024 (2024-10-11)
Closing: October 20, 2024 (2024-10-20)
LanguagePolish
English
Websitewff.pl
Current: 40th
41st
39th

The 40th edition of the festival will take place from 11 to 20 October 2024.[3]

History

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Palace of Culture and Science with a huge poster for Warsaw Film Festival

The festival has been held every year since 1985.[4]

In 2008, it was recognised by FIAPF as an international competitive film festival.[5]

Timeline
  • 1985 – Film Discussion Club "Hybrydy" founds the festival, originally named Warsaw Film Week.[6] Creator Roman Gutek becomes its first director
  • 1991 – Stefan Laudyn becomes new director of the festival and name Warsaw Film Week changes to Warsaw Film Festival
  • 1995 – organised by Warsaw Film Foundation for the first time
  • 2000 – festival gets accreditation from FIAPF and changes its name to Warsaw International Film Festival.[7]
  • 2005 – for the first time, FIAPF jury gives special awards during Warsaw International Film Festival
  • 2008 – FIAPF adds Warsaw Film Festival to its list of international festivals, accredited as a competitive film festival specialised in first and second features and films from Central and Eastern Europe[5][8]

Description

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The festival is host to the International Federation of Film Critics awards for enterprising filmmaking in Central Europe and beyond.[9]

Programmes

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The programme consists of the following sections:[citation needed]

  • The International Competition – premiering competition for international features
  • 1–2 Competition – for 1st and 2nd feature films
  • Free Spirit Competition – competition for independent, innovative, rebellious feature length fiction and documentary films from all over the world.
  • Documentary Competition
  • Shorts Competition – For narrative, documentary and animated shorts (up to 40 minutes) from all over the world. Winners are Academy Awards eligible.
  • Special Screenings – non competitive section dedicated to acclaimed filmmakers from all over the world
  • Discoveries
  • Family Cinema Weekend

All the films presented, regardless of the section (competitive or non-competitive), are eligible for the Audience Award.[citation needed]

Juries

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  • International Competition Jury
  • The Competition 1–2 Jury
  • Free Spirit Competition Jury
  • Documentary Competition Jury
  • Shorts Competition Jury
  • Jury FIPRESCI
  • Jury NETPAC
  • Ecumenical jury – by SIGNIS

Award winners

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International Competition winners

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Warsaw Grand Prix (called the Grand Prix Nescafé from 2002 until 2007, 18th-23rd edition)[10]
Year Film Original Title Director Country
2002 Edi[11] Edi Piotr Trzaskalski   Poland
2003 With Love, Lilly[12] Russian: С любовью, Лиля (S luboviu, Lilia) Larisa Sadilova   Russia
2004 The Beautiful City[13] Persian: شهر زیبا (Shahr-e Ziba) Asghar Farhadi   Iran
2005 Sorry for Kung Fu[14] Oprosti za kung fu Ognjen Sviličić   Croatia
2006 Euphoria[15] Russian: Эйфория (Eyforia) Ivan Vyrypaev   Russia
2007 Night Train Chinese: 夜行列车; Chinese: 夜行列车; pinyin: Yè háng lièchē Yi'nan Diao   China /   Hong Kong /   France
2008 Yuri's Day Russian: Юрьев день (Yurev Den) Kirill Serebrennikov   Russia /   Germany
2009 Lourdes[16] Lourdes Jessica Hausner   Austria /   France /   Germany
2010 Incendies[17] Incendies Denis Villeneuve   Canada
2011 Rose[18] Róża Wojciech Smarzowski   Poland
2012 Tango Libre[19] Tango Libre Frédéric Fonteyne   Belgium /   France /   Luxembourg
2013 Ida[20] Ida Paweł Pawlikowski   Poland
2014 The Coffin In the Mountain[21] Chinese: 心迷宫; pinyin: Xīn mígōng Xin Yukun   China
2015 Neon Bull[22] Boi Neon Gabriel Mascaro   Brazil
2016 Malaria[23] Persian: مالاریا (Malaria) Parviz Shahbazi   Iran
2017 To Kill a Watermelon[24] Chinese: 杀瓜; pinyin: Shā guā Zehao Gao   China
2018 The Delegation[25] Delegacioni Bujar Alimani   Albania
2019 Shindisi[26] Shindisi Dito Tsintsadze   Georgia[27]
2020 18 Kilohertz[28] 18 килогерц Farkhat Sharipov   Kazakhstan
2021 Miracle[29] Miracol Bogdan George Apetri   Romania /   Czech Republic /   Latvia
2022 May Labour Day Praznik rada Pjer Žalica   Bosnia and Herzegovina
2023 The Shadow of Catire[30] La sombra del Catire Jorge Hernandez Aldana   Venezuela /   Mexico
2024[31] Traffic[32] Reostat Teodora Ana Mihai   Romania /   Belgium /   Netherlands

References

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  1. ^ "Main cultural events". Collegium Civitas. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Most important festivals in Warsaw". Residence St. Andrew's Palace. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  3. ^ Lazić, Manuela (26 September 2024). "The 40th Warsaw Film Festival announces its programme". Cineuropa. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  4. ^ "History". WFF Official Website.
  5. ^ a b FIAPF Accredited Festivals Directory (PDF). FIAPF. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2015.
  6. ^ Frank, Alison (20 October 2013). "29th Warsaw Film Festival". fipresci.org. Retrieved 6 February 2024. It was created in 1985 as "Warsaw Film Week" in the framework of the intellectual opposition club "Hybrydy". In 1991, after the Polish State's full democratization, Stefan Laudyn took over as director of the "Warsaw Film Festival".
  7. ^ Kwiatkowski, Aleksander (16 August 2018). "A Fascinating (Pre-)History". fipresci.org. Retrieved 6 February 2024. In 2000 the festival got accreditation from FIAPF and changed its name again, into Warsaw International Film Festival.
  8. ^ Kozlov, Vladimir (7 October 2010). "Warsaw Int'l Film Festival comes of age". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Warsaw International Film Festival". Culture.pl. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Historia" (in Polish). wff.pl. 20 October 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Warsaw Film Festival". 16 November 2011. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Warsaw Film Festival". 16 November 2011. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Warsaw Film Festival". 16 November 2011. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Warsaw Film Festival". 16 November 2011. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  15. ^ "22nd Warsaw International Film Festival - 2006". WFF Official Website.
  16. ^ "25th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2009". WFF Official Website.
  17. ^ "26th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2010". WFF Official Website.
  18. ^ "27th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2011". WFF Official Website.
  19. ^ "28th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2012". WFF Official Website.
  20. ^ "29th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2013". WFF Official Website.
  21. ^ "30th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2014". WFF Official Website.
  22. ^ "31st Warsaw International Film Festival - 2015". WFF Official Website.
  23. ^ "32nd Warsaw International Film Festival, Awards 2016". WFF Official Website.
  24. ^ "33rd Warsaw International Film Festival - 2017". WFF Official Website.
  25. ^ "34th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2018". WFF Official Website.
  26. ^ "35th Warsaw International Film Festival - 2019". WFF Official Website.
  27. ^ Warsaw International Film Festival:'Shindisi' Wins Grand Prix|Hollywood Reporter
  28. ^ "Awards of the 36th Warsaw International Film Festival". WFF Official Website.
  29. ^ "Awards of the 37th Warsaw International Film Festival". WFF Official Website.
  30. ^ "Awards of the 39th Warsaw International Film Festival". WFF Official Website. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  31. ^ "Awards of the 39th Warsaw International Film Festival". WFF Official Website. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  32. ^ "Traffic". WFF Official Website. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
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