Warsaw International Film Festival (Warszawski Międzynarodowy Festiwal Filmowy)

Warsaw International Film Festival

Warszawski Międzynarodowy Festiwal Filmowy

Also known as: Warsaw Film Festival, WIFF, WFF, WMFF, Warsaw Film Week
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Accredited by FIAPF as an international competitive film festival, the Warsaw International Film Festival is organised by the Warsaw Film Foundation. It began in 1985 as Warsaw Film Week and has carried its present English name since 2000. The International Competition awards the Warsaw Grand Prix; the 1–2 Competition is reserved for first and second features; a documentary competition runs alongside them; and the four main awards of the Short Films Competition qualify for the Academy Awards. Non-competitive sections include Free Spirit, devoted to independent and unconventional films, and Animus. Cinema of Values. Warsaw Industry Days, with the Warsaw Co-Production Forum and Industry Talks, take place during the festival.

The 42nd edition runs in Warsaw on 9–18 October 2026.

Country

Poland

Categories

Animation, Documentary, Feature, Short

Awards and prizes

International Competition: Warsaw Grand Prix (funded by the Mayor of Warsaw), Best Director Award, Special Jury Award. 1-2 Competition (first and second features): Winner of 1-2 Competition. Documentary Competition: Best Documentary Feature. Short Films Competition: Short Grand Prix, Best Animated Short Film, Best Live-Action Short Film, Best Documentary Short Film. These four awards qualify for the Academy Awards. Encounters: Polish Film Institute Award for the Polish distributor of the winning film, by audience vote. Free Spirit: Free Spirit Audience Award. Audience Award for the best film of the festival, chosen by viewers from all sections. Awards of independent juries: FIPRESCI Award for the best film of the International Competition, Ecumenical Jury Award (SIGNIS and INTERFILM), NETPAC Award for the best Asian film.

Festival rules

Competition sections accept films whose first public screening took place on or after 1 January of the festival year. Films must not have been distributed, publicly screened or broadcast on television in Poland, or made available on the internet; Polish films may have screened only at the Gdynia Film Festival. World, international and European premieres have priority. Feature-length films run over 60 minutes; the Short Films Competition accepts fiction, documentary and animated films up to 40 minutes. Films are submitted through the festival website, FilmFreeway or Festhome; works in post-production may be submitted. Films are screened in original versions with English subtitles. Each film may be screened up to five times.

Contacts

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