The history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as the history of cinematography, and it has universally recognized achievements, even though Polish films tend to be less commercially available than films from several other European nations.
Andrzej Witold Wajda was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "Polish Film School". He was known especially for his trilogy of war films consisting of A Generation (1955), Kanał (1957) and Ashes and Diamonds (1958).
Knife in the Water is a 1962 Polish psychological thriller film co-written and directed by Roman Polanski in his feature debut, and starring Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, and Zygmunt Malanowicz. Its plot follows a husband and wife who are accompanied on a boating trip by a young male hitchhiker, who spurs a number of escalating confrontations between the couple.
The Promised Land is a 1975 Polish drama film directed by Andrzej Wajda, based on the novel of the same name by Władysław Reymont. Set in the industrial city of Łódź, The Promised Land tells the story of a Pole, a German, and a Jew struggling to build a factory in the raw world of 19th-century capitalism.
Władysław Strzemiński was a Polish painter, art theoretician and pedagogue. He is regarded as a pioneer of Constructivist avant-garde of the 1920s and 1930s and the developer of the theory of unism.
Man of Iron is a 1981 film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It depicts the Solidarity labour movement and its first success in persuading the Polish government to recognize workers' right to an independent union.
Walesa: Man of Hope is a 2013 Polish biopic film directed by Andrzej Wajda, starring Robert Więckiewicz as Lech Wałęsa. Wajda stated at Kraków's Off Plus Camera Film Festival in April 2012 that he foresaw trouble following the film's release. The film was selected as the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.
11 Minutes is a 2015 Polish-Irish thriller film written and directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It stars Richard Dormer, Paulina Chapko, Wojciech Mecwaldowski, Andrzej Chyra, Dawid Ogrodnik, Agata Buzek, Piotr Glowacki, Mateusz Kościukiewicz, Ifi Ude, Jan Nowicki, Anna Maria Buczek, and Lukasz Sikora. Set in Warsaw, it tells the story of multiple people's lives over the course of eleven minutes in a single day. The film had its world premiere in the Competition section at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival on 9 September 2015. It was selected as the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 88th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
Desierto is a 2015 thriller film co-written and directed by Jonás Cuarón. It was produced by Cuarón together with his father Alfonso and his uncle Carlos, and distributed by STXfilms. The film stars Gael García Bernal and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It was shown in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for Special Presentations, and was selected as the Mexican entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.
The Commune is a 2016 Danish drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. At Berlin, Trine Dyrholm won the Silver Bear for Best Actress. It was named as one of three films that could be chosen as the Danish submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards but was not selected.
Death in Sarajevo is a 2016 Bosnian drama film directed by Danis Tanović. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. At Berlin it won the Jury Grand Prix, as well as FIPRESCI prize for films shown in competition. It was selected as the Bosnian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.
Sieranevada is a 2016 black comedy-drama film written and directed by Cristi Puiu and starring Mimi Brănescu. The plot follows a successful neurologist who attends a family meal supposed to commemorate his deceased father. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It was selected as the Romanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
Clash is a 2016 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Mohamed Diab. It was officially selected by the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and was the opening film of the Festival's Un Certain Regard section that year. It was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards but it was not nominated. It won the award for Best Film at the 2016 International Film Festival of Kerala.
Neruda is a 2016 internationally co-produced biographical drama film directed by Pablo Larraín. Mixing history and fiction, the film shows the dramatic events of the suppression of Communists in Chile in 1948 and how the poet, diplomat, politician and Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda had to go on the run, eventually escaping on horseback over the Andes.
The Distinguished Citizen is a 2016 Argentine-Spanish comedy-drama film directed by Gastón Duprat & Mariano Cohn. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival. At Venice Oscar Martínez won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. It was selected as the Argentine entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards but it was not nominated. It won Best Ibero-American Film at the 4th Platino Awards.
Paradise is a 2016 Russian drama film produced and directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival. At Venice Konchalovsky won the Silver Lion for Best Director. It was selected as the Russian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards. In December 2016, it made the shortlist of nine films to be considered for a nomination at the 89th Academy Awards.
Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe is a 2016 internationally co-produced drama film directed and co-written by Maria Schrader. It was listed as one of eight films that could be the German submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, but it was not selected. However, it was later chosen as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
Tom of Finland is a 2017 biographical drama film directed by Dome Karukoski and written by Aleksi Bardy. It stars Pekka Strang as Touko Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland, a Finnish homoerotic artist.
Corpus Christi is a 2019 drama film directed by Jan Komasa and written by Mateusz Pacewicz. An international co-production between Poland and France, the film stars Bartosz Bielenia, Aleksandra Konieczna, Eliza Rycembel, Tomasz Ziętek, Leszek Lichota, and Łukasz Simlat. Inspired by real-life events, it follows a 20-year-old man who experiences a spiritual transformation while living in a youth detention center.
