“Less Red Carpet, More Love of Cinema”: The Warsaw Film Festival Wants to Be a Destination for Discovery

The 42nd edition of the Warsaw International Film Festival is screening 190 films, including 132 features, this year. The Polish fest, which opened Oct. 9 with Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut, wraps on Sunday.

With 102 world, international or regional premieres, the event offers ample opportunity for discoveries, while also screening highlights from this year’s fest circuit.

Its industry section, Warsaw Industry Days, is also getting a push. “While the new format of Warsaw Industry Days was launched only last year, we’re already seeing significant growth,” Eliza Subotowicz, the head of Industry Days, tells THR. “This year, we received twice as many submissions to the Warsaw Co-Production Forum. We’ve seen growing interest from international industry professionals, reflected in the number of accredited guests, and we’ve established new partnerships — perhaps most importantly with the Polish Producers Alliance, which organized their annual summit during Warsaw Industry Talks.”

And she highlights that “our ambition is to expand the Warsaw Co-Production Forum to welcome projects from across Europe and potentially beyond.” Another goal is to attract more key international industry players and build strategic partnerships. “Ultimately, our goal is to strengthen Warsaw Industry Days’ position as a meeting point for the Polish and international film industries,” says Subotowicz.

Warsaw festival director Joanna Szymańska-Szcześniak and program director Bartek Pulcyn are the driving forces behind the cinematic experience that Warsaw serves up each fall. They talked to THR about what makes the Polish festival stand out and their ambitions for the future.

How do you see Warsaw’s role, vision and positioning in the annual film festival calendar in Eastern Europe and worldwide?

JOANNA SZYMAŃSKA-SZCZEŚNIAK Warsaw has enormous potential as an international film festival destination. We have a city that is developing rapidly, a strong cultural scene and a festival with more than 40 years of history.

When I became general director, I knew I didn’t want to simply maintain what had already been built. I wanted to give the festival new energy and think seriously about where it should be in five or 10 years. For me, that means strengthening our international partnerships, developing our industry activities and making Warsaw an increasingly attractive destination for filmmakers, producers and audiences.

I also want the festival to become a much more visible part of the city’s cultural identity. My ambition is for Warsaw to be recognized not only as a place where important films are screened, but as a city where the international film community wants to meet.

BARTEK PULCYN We want Warsaw to be a place of major discoveries. We welcome filmmakers at the beginning of their careers through our 1–2 Competition, dedicated to first and second features, and our very strong Short Film Competition, with four Oscar-qualifying awards. Warsaw can be an excellent starting point for a film’s festival journey and its director’s international career.

Our International Competition welcomes more established filmmakers from around the world, giving their latest work the attention it deserves. Our autumn dates are an opportunity — so many outstanding films are ready at this time of year, far more than the programs of other A-list festivals can accommodate.

How many film submissions do you get every year? And do you have any core principles or focus areas when you select Warsaw’s program?

SZYMAŃSKA-SZCZEŚNIAK We receive more than 4,000 submissions every year, so the scale of the selection process is considerable. Our programming director, Bartek Pulcyn, and his team are responsible for selecting the films. Bartek is guided by artistic values and principles that I personally share, and I have great trust in his judgment and approach to programming.

From my perspective, the program should reflect the international character of the festival while remaining accessible to different audiences. One of my priorities is to make sure that the festival doesn’t become an event only for film professionals or dedicated cinephiles. I want people who don’t normally attend film festivals to feel that there is something here for them too. That’s why we’re also developing new ways of presenting cinema and reaching audiences beyond our traditional festival venues.

PULCYN Above all, my selection team and I approach films as viewers. We look for stories that move and inspire us, for accomplished filmmaking with something meaningful to say. We choose films that make us feel we want to share them with an audience in Warsaw.

How key are world premieres for the festival? And what are some of the big world premieres you are particularly proud of?

SZYMAŃSKA-SZCZEŚNIAK This year, our program includes 102 world, international and regional premieres. I think that number shows the scale of our international activities and the confidence filmmakers and distributors place in Warsaw.

Of course, premieres are important for the festival’s reputation, but I also look at them from a broader perspective. Every premiere brings filmmakers, producers, distributors and journalists to Warsaw. It creates opportunities for international exposure, professional relationships and future collaborations. That’s something I want to continue developing. I see the festival not only as a place where films are presented, but also as a platform that can help them reach wider audiences and open new doors for their creators.

PULCYN World premieres are always a source of great joy for a festival. It is an honor when filmmakers choose Warsaw as the place to share their work with an audience for the first time. But our program is not limited to world premieres. We also present international and regional premieres, sometimes hosting a film’s second or third festival appearance.

Among the world premieres in our competitions, we are particularly pleased to present Dice-Ching-O-Mat by Kristijonas Vildžiūnas, Mentor by Keisuke Yoshida, Frieda by Felix Hassenfratz and Men Die Sooner by Federico Montero. Outside competition, we have Martha, Martin Mirabel’s documentary about Martha Argerich, and, in our Free Spirit section, Dirt in Your Face by Jaak Kilmi.

Is star power something you focus on? Who were some of the international stars at Warsaw this year?

PULCYN Our focus is firmly on the quality of the films. Of course, it is always a pleasure to welcome a major star, but we do not roll out a red carpet outside Kinoteka, our main cinema in the Palace of Culture and Science. There is no dress code for our guests, and encounters with audiences are relaxed and informal, without the glitz. I am very happy that Hans Petter Moland and Julia Jentsch joined us this year, alongside nearly 400 other filmmakers.

SZYMAŃSKA-SZCZEŚNIAK Having well-known international guests is certainly important. It attracts media attention and helps us promote both the festival and Warsaw internationally. But I think we should look at international recognition more broadly than just celebrity appearances.

For me, it’s equally important to build long-term relationships with filmmakers and industry professionals. I want people to return to Warsaw, recommend our festival to others and see it as an important place for their work. Of course, I would love to welcome even more internationally recognized names in the coming years. That’s part of our ambition to continue raising the festival’s profile.

I heard that you often have Q&As after films. How important is it to screen films that can lead to political or topical debates about issues of our time?

PULCYN Conversations after screenings are an integral part of the festival. Filmmakers value them enormously and often comment on the thoughtful, perceptive questions they receive from Warsaw audiences.

Alongside the pressing issues of our time, we are equally interested in goodness, truth, freedom and beauty — universal values that can bring us together across our differences. We may each understand and experience them differently, but most of us want them to have a place in our lives.

SZYMAŃSKA-SZCZEŚNIAK I think film festivals have a responsibility to remain connected to the world around us. Cinema has always been a way of responding to social and political changes, and I believe it’s important to give space to films that address difficult or uncomfortable subjects.

At the same time, I don’t think a festival should promote one particular point of view. What matters is creating an environment where different perspectives can be presented and discussed. Our audiences are curious, engaged and not afraid to ask difficult questions. I think that’s one of the great strengths of Warsaw.

For me, a successful festival is one that stays with people after they leave the cinema. Sometimes because they’ve seen an extraordinary film, and sometimes because a conversation has made them reconsider something they thought they understood.

I heard about Cinema in the Clouds. Is that a new offering? And why did you launch that?

SZYMAŃSKA-SZCZEŚNIAK Cinema in the Clouds was introduced last year, and it has become one of our most distinctive initiatives. The screenings take place on the 46th floor of Varso Tower, around 200 meters [656 feet] above Warsaw, with a spectacular view of the city. What I particularly like about this project is that it changes the way people experience a film festival.

When I think about the future of Warsaw International Film Festival, I don’t think only about what happens inside the cinema. I think about how the festival can become part of the city itself. This year, we’ve continued developing that idea through initiatives such as WIFF STOPS and events in different locations across Warsaw.

I want the festival to be present in the city’s everyday life, to surprise people and to encourage them to participate, even if they’ve never attended a film festival before. Cinema in the Clouds is a perfect example of that approach.

Why did you decide to screen Dead Poets Society this year?

PULCYN The film is part of our Cinema, My Love program, in which we invite leading Polish actors and filmmakers to choose films they love. Dead Poets Society was the choice of our guest, the actress Katarzyna Herman.

Can you share any information on the success of this year’s edition? How have industry attendance and festival ticket sales been trending compared with recent years?

SZYMAŃSKA-SZCZEŚNIAK We’re still collecting the final figures, but the preliminary results are very encouraging. Audience attendance has increased by a percentage in the mid-teens compared with last year. For me, this is particularly important because we’ve been making significant changes to the festival over the past two years.

We’ve introduced new initiatives, expanded our activities across the city and worked on reaching audiences who may not have previously considered attending the festival. We’re also seeing growing interest in Warsaw Industry Days, including more project submissions and stronger international engagement.

Of course, we still have a lot of work ahead of us. One of the biggest challenges for cultural events today is finding sustainable financing while continuing to develop and invest in new ideas. But I believe we’re moving in the right direction. The growing interest in the festival gives us confidence that the changes we’re making are meaningful.

Is there anything else you would like to highlight?

PULCYN We want WIFF to become one of people’s favorite stops on the festival circuit — a friendly, open place where filmmakers can feel at ease. Between screenings, they can enjoy Warsaw — a safe, clean city with a rich cultural life and a wonderful food scene.

Our priorities are films and encounters with people. Less red carpet, more love of cinema.

SZYMAŃSKA-SZCZEŚNIAK What makes this festival particularly special to me is that I’ve known it from so many different perspectives. I grew up with the Warsaw International Film Festival. I’ve seen how it has changed over the years, and I’ve had the opportunity to work in different areas of its organization before becoming general director.

That experience has taught me how much work, commitment and passion it takes to create an event of this scale. Today, my responsibility is to make sure that the festival continues to grow and remains relevant for future generations.

I’m proud of our team and of the changes we’ve managed to introduce together. We have a strong foundation, but I believe there is still enormous potential ahead of us. I don’t want Warsaw International Film Festival to be important only because of its history. I want it to be important because of what we are doing today and what we will achieve in the future.