Warsaw Film Festival

About

The Warsaw Film Festival (WFF) is organised by the Warsaw Film Foundation in Warsaw, Poland. Its aim is to present the best films from all over the world to Polish and international audience, and to encourage better communication and understanding between people living in different countries and of different cultural backgrounds. 

Competitive sections:

• International Competition – for feature films from all over the world;
• Competition 1-2 – for first and second feature films by the directors from all over the world;
• Free Spirit Competition – for independent, innovative, rebellious films from all over the world;
• Documentary Competition – for feature length (over 60 mins.) documentaries from all over the world;
• Short Films Competition – for short films from all over the world (30 mins. or less).

Non-competitive section:

• Special Screenings;
• Classics from Poland;
• Discoveries – visions of contemporary world;
• Family Cinema Weekend – films for children and their parents;
• Polish Short Films Panorama.

Awards

International Competition awards:

• The main award – Warsaw Grand Prix. The financial part of the award: 100,000 zlotys. The award goes to the Director (or Directors);
• Best Director. The financial part of the award: 10.000 zlotys. The award goes to the Director (Directors);
• Special Jury Award. The financial part of the award: 5.000 zlotys. The award can be given to an actor, composer, editor, director of photography, producer, scriptwriter or set designer.     

There can be only one winner of each of the awards in the International Competition (no ex-aequo).

Awards in Competition 1-2:

• Winner of Competition 1-2. The Jury can give one or two equally important awards. The financial part of each award: 10.000 zlotys. The award goes to the Director (Directors).

Free Spirit Competition award:

• Free Spirit Award. The financial part of the award: 5.000 zlotys. The award goes to the Director (Directors). There can be only one winner of the Free Spirit Competition (no ex-aequo).

Documentary Competition award:

• Best Documentary Award. The financial part of the award: 5,000 zlotys. The award goes to the Director(s). There can be only one winner of the Documentary Competition (no ex-aequo).

Short Films Competition:

• Grand Prix. The financial part of the award: 2,000 zlotys. The award goes to the Director(s) of the winning film. There can be only one winner of the Grand Prix (no ex-aequo);
• Best Animated Short Film Award. The financial part of the award: 1,000 zlotys. The award goes to the Director(s) of the winning film;
• Best Live Action Short Film Award. The financial part of the award: 1,000 zlotys. The award goes to the Director(s) of the winning film;
• Best Documentary Short Film Award The financial part of the award: 1,000 zlotys *). The award goes to the Director(s) of the winning film.

The Audience Award: The audience votes for the best film from any section of the Festival. The winner gets the Audience Award. No financial part of this award.

Rules

Except in special circumstances, accepted by the festival director, only films meeting the following criteria can be presented at the Warsaw Film Festival:

• for competitive sections - films, which had their first public screening on or after January 1, 2022 
• films which have not been presented at any film event in Eastern Europe outside of the country (countries) of origin; 
• films which have not been distributed or exhibited in Poland or broadcast on TV stations which are available in Poland 
• films which have not been previously shown on the Internet, including international online platforms  available to general public; 
• world, international or European premieres are required for the Short Films Competition.

You can submit films in post-production (before sound mix, colour correction, as well as rough cuts), which will be completed before WFF.

• Submit online via festival website or Filmfreeway/Festhome system
• If online screener is not available, please fill in the entry form on the WFF website or submit through Filmfreeway/Festhome and send the DVD or another video storage type (eg. USB stick) with the film..

The Festival is responsible for the prints from the moment of pick-up from the shipper (when importing) to the moment of giving them to the shipper (when re-exporting). The Festival's responsibility for damage or loss of the print is limited to the cost of making a new print according to the present laboratory rate for making a standard print. The festival's liability in case of whole or partial destruction of a print during the festival cannot exceed the value of 3.500 Euro. 

Selection Media Type: DVD, Secure Online Screener

Screening Media Type: 35 мм, DCP

Audio language: original

Subtitles language: English

Premiere Requirements

National premiere required.

Jury and Organizers

Festival director — Stefan Laudyn.