Andrzej Wajda Year

2026 – The Year of Andrzej Wajda

The Senate of the Republic of Poland has declared 2026 the Year of Andrzej Wajda, one of the most distinguished figures in Polish and world cinema, marking the centenary of his birth and the tenth anniversary of his death. The director of such films as Kanal, Ashes and Diamonds, The Promised Land, Man of Marble and Katyn has secured his place in the history of world cinema by combining artistic courage with a profound social and civic commitment.

Andrzej Wajda – A Diagnostician of the Polish Soul

Andrzej Wajda (1926–2016) was one of the most important figures in Polish and world cinema: a film and theatre director as well as a screenwriter. During the German occupation, he worked as a manual labourer and attended underground classes while developing his interest in the visual arts. After the war, he studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, an experience that had a profound influence on the visual language of his films – their framing, use of light, and colour. He subsequently graduated in directing from the Łódź Film School. He began his creative career with his debut film A Generation (1955), while Kanal (which received an award at Cannes) and Ashes and Diamonds established his position as a leading representative of the Polish Film School.

Wajda also became renowned as an outstanding adapter of literature, bringing the works of some of Poland’s most important writers to the screen, including Reymont (The Promised Land), Wyspiański (The Wedding), Iwaszkiewicz (The Maids of Wilko), and Mickiewicz (Pan Tadeusz), creating a cinematic narrative of Polish identity. His cinema frequently engaged in dialogue with the political reality of communist Poland, repeatedly confronting censorship. In the 1970s and 1980s, he made a number of important politically engaged films, including Man of Marble and Man of Iron (Palme d’Or at Cannes), supporting the ideas of the Solidarity movement.

At the same time, he pursued an intensive career in theatre, directing numerous productions. After 1989, he became involved in public life and served as a Senator of the Republic of Poland. He founded the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology, and in 2002 established a directing school for young filmmakers. His work received the world’s most prestigious honours, including an Academy Honorary Award (2000), the Golden Lion at Venice, and the Golden Bear at Berlin. His final film, Afterimage (2016), can be seen as his artistic testament.

Portret Andrzeja Wajdy — Andrzej Wajda, photo: Łukasz Ostalski / Reporter / East News

Andrzej Wajda Year 2026 – Events Around the World

To mark the Year of Andrzej Wajda, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute is co-organising and supporting screenings and retrospectives of Andrzej Wajda’s films around the world, including in France, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Austria, Japan, and Hungary.

Together with its partners – the Documentary and Feature Film Studio in Warsaw and the Łódź Film School – and with financial support from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, IAM is also organising the WAJDA RE/FRAME competition. International students of film and art schools have been invited to take on a unique creative challenge: to create an original film essay based on a creative interpretation of Andrzej Wajda’s films. More information: here.

Programme of events marking the Year of Andrzej Wajda 2026

February

10 February – Les Mardis Polonais: screenings of Andrzej Wajda’s films organised in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Paris – The Maids of Wilko (guests: Wiesława Starska, Allan Starski)

March

17 March – Les Mardis Polonais: screenings of Andrzej Wajda’s films organised in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Paris – Innocent Sorcerers, accompanied by live jazz music performed by young Polish artists

April

7 April – Les Mardis Polonais: screenings of Andrzej Wajda’s films organised in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Paris – Katyn (guests: Paweł Edelman, Maja Ostaszewska)
9–19 April – 45th Istanbul Film Festival: Meetings on the Bridge networking events; screening of Ashes and Diamonds with a masterclass as part of the Year of Wajda

May

12 May – Les Mardis Polonais: screenings of Andrzej Wajda’s films organised in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Paris – The Conductor (guest: Andrzej Seweryn)

June

7 June–7 July – Wróblewski według Wajdy (Wróblewski According to Wajda), an IAM co-production from 2015, made available on the Ninateka.pl platform
10 June – Launch of communications for the WAJDA RE/FRAME film essay competition organised in cooperation with the Łódź Film School
16 June – Les Mardis Polonais: screenings of Andrzej Wajda’s films organised in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Paris – Everything for Sale (guests: Daniel Olbrychski, Małgorzata Potocka)

July

7 July – Les Mardis Polonais: screenings of Andrzej Wajda’s films organised in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Paris – Sweet Rush (guest: Jean-Marie Samocki)

September

3–17 September – Polish Film Festival 2026 in Seoul
11 September – 21st filmPOLSKA Festival in Berlin and Potsdam – Wajda School New Talents pitching session at the Polish Institute in Berlin
15–20 September – Andrzej Wajda retrospective at the 9th Budapest Classic Film Marathon: screening of Ashes and Diamonds from film print at Urania Cinema, followed by a concert of Wajda film music
15 September – WAJDA RE/FRAME – announcement of the winners of the film essay competition organised in cooperation with the Łódź Film School
Videocast on Culture.pl

October

1–15 October – Andrzej Wajda retrospective in Argentina: BUENOS AIRES – 9 films and 18 screenings
9–18 October – Screening of the winning WAJDA RE/FRAME competition essay during the Warsaw Film Festival, before a screening of Danton, Kino Iluzjon
9 October – Opening of the Wajda retrospective in Innsbruck, Austria
25 October – Screening of Innocent Sorcerers with live music at Cosmopolite Scene, Oslo
26 October – Screening of Innocent Sorcerers with live music at Bio Aspen Cinema, Stockholm
28 October – Screening of Innocent Sorcerers with live music as part of the Valladolid Festival
29 October – Screening of Innocent Sorcerers with live music in Madrid
29 October–1 November – Andrzej Wajda retrospective in Argentina: CÓRDOBA – Cineclub Municipal
31 October – Wajda and Art. A Dialogue between Film, Literature and Painting – meeting with students, lecture, and discussion following a screening of The Maids of Wilko in Bratislava

November

3–8 November – 36th Cottbus Film Festival
5–8 November – Andrzej Wajda retrospective in Argentina: MENDOZA – Cine Universidad (UNCUYO)
7–14 November – Camerimage – awards ceremony for the winners of the WAJDA RE/FRAME competition
9–11 November – Andrzej Wajda retrospective in Argentina: MAR DEL PLATA – Mar del Plata International Film Festival, including a conference on Wajda’s work with Dr Michał Oleszczyk
10–22 November – CiakPolska Film Festival in Rome
10–15 November 2026 – Cineteca Classic / Grandi classici del cinema polacco, a section dedicated to Wajda’s work
19–22 November – New Polish Cinema section
11 November–17 December – travelling Wajda retrospective in seven Italian cities: Milan, Turin, Udine, Florence, Bologna, Naples, and Palermo
From 14 November – four Wajda films screened on RAI television, subsequently available free of charge on the RaiPlay platform until the end of 2026
November (date TBC) – Wajda and Art. A Dialogue between Film, Literature and Painting – meeting with students, lecture, and discussion following a screening of The Maids of Wilko in Innsbruck
13–19 November – Poland Film Festival 2026 in Tokyo – screenings of Wajda’s films presented in cooperation with CKF, alongside screenings of films by younger filmmakers
13–15 November – Democracy Workshops, Bratislava – panel discussion
14–15 November – Andrzej Wajda retrospective in Argentina: BUENOS AIRES – Cine Teatro York
16–18 November – Democracy Workshops, Sofia – panel discussion

December

3 December – Wajda School New Talents pitching session at the Polish Institute in Paris