The largest Polish film festival in Germany, filmPOLSKA, will begin on 11 September and run until 18 September 2024. During this time, in addition to 65 diverse screenings including such sections as cinema of young directors, experimental cinema, Polish documentary cinema or retrospectives, an extensive programme of accompanying events is planned.

filmPOLSKA – a fixed point on the film map of Germany

The filmPOLSKA Festival, organised by the Polish Institute in Berlin, is the largest event dedicated to Polish cinema in Germany. Since the first edition of the festival in 2005, it has featured 1,709 film screenings in 35 locations in Berlin and Brandenburg, with 367 Polish filmmakers participating.

This year’s edition is located in Berlin and Potsdam, where audiences will have the opportunity to become acquainted with a very wide range of Polish film art. The presentations have been grouped into several thematic sections:

• Competition (Wettbewerb) – presentation of the young generation of Polish directors distinguished by their extraordinary filmmaking skills and unique storytelling abilities. It will include such pictures as: "In the Rearview", directed by Maciek Hamela, "Girls’ Stories", directed by Aga Borzym or "Next to Nothing", directed by Grzegorz Dębowski.
• Panorama (Panorama: Wendepunkte) – the most popular Polish movies from the recent years as well as productions that have won recognition at international festivals and among German audiences. These include, among others: "Scarborn", directed by Paweł Maślona, "Silence Heard Loud", directed by Anna Konik or "It Came from the Water", directed by Xawery Żuławski.
• Retrospective (Retrospektive) – a selection of Polish cinema classics and a chance to become familiar with the history as seen from the Polish perspective. This year, the section’s programme is dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its outbreak.
• Short films (Kurzfilme) – presentations of short films and student etudes in cooperation with Munk Studio, Krakow Film Foundation, The Film School in Lodz, Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice.
• Art in Cinema (Kunst im Kino) – a special screening featuring conceptual short films by artist Natalia LL.
• HER Docs x filmPOLSKA - collaboration with the Polish HER Docs Film Festival.

Beyond the Cinema – a programme of accompanying events

filmPOLSKA MEETS PRESS – an industry meeting

On 15 September 2024, an industry meeting will be held at the Polish Institute in Berlin, where German journalists and film industry representatives will have the opportunity to talk to and get to know Polish filmmakers. The guests will include persons associated with the films presented as part of this year’s festival programme, among others: Allan Starski, Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosołowski, Xawery Żuławski, Olga Chajdas, Maciej Hamela, Aga Borzym, Michał Hytroś, Grzegorz Dębowski and Paweł Maślona.

Film workshops

The workshop “Portrait of a Place, Portrait of a Hero" (04-08.09.2024), led by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosolowski, was aimed at film students involved in making documentaries. The presenters used Krzysztof Kieślowski’s films as inspiration and starting point for discussing the theoretical and practical aspects of documentary filmmaking. The workshop ended with a joint screening of short films created by the participants. The selected ones will be presented to the public during the filmPOLSKA Festival.

The next “Masterclass: Allan Starski” workshop (13-14.09.2-2024) will be led by the Oscar-winning set designer Allan Starski. The workshop will take a comprehensive look on various aspects of the set designer’s work. Examples will include such pictures as "Schindler's List" by Steven Spielberg, "Washington Square" by Agnieszka Holland and "The Pianist" by Roman Polański, to the making of which Starski has contributed. The workshop will take the form of an interactive lecture and discussion among participants.

Concert filmPOLSKA-Party

Katarzyna Kasia with Grzegorz Markowski and Sam Karol will come together with their original DJ sets to get the party rolling at the iconic Musikbrauerei. The event will be held on 14 September 2024.

Patronage: Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg

Co-organisers: Polish Film Institute, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland from the Culture Promotion Fund, Adam Mickiewicz Institute

Partners: Deutsche Filmakademie, German Historical Museum, Mokry Nos Psa, HER Docs Festival, Topography of Terror, Cottbus Film Festival

Media partners: Cosmo, Fluxfm, Indiekino & Cinematic Berlin, radio3, RAUSGEGANGEN, taz

The festival is organised by the Polish Institute in Berlin and Sputnik Kino with the support of the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, the Polish Film Institute and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.