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).
Agnieszka Holland is a Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanussi and Andrzej Wajda, and emigrated to France shortly before the 1981 imposition of the martial law in Poland.
Jerzy Julian Hoffman is a Polish director, screenwriter, and producer. He received the Polish Academy Life Achievement Award in February 2006.
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 with a young male hitchhiker, who spurs a number of escalating confrontations between the couple.
Daniel Marcel Olbrychski is a Polish actor best known for leading roles in several Andrzej Wajda movies and also known for playing a defector and spymaster Vassily Orlov alongside Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie in the movie Salt.
Jerzy Skolimowski is a Polish film director, screenwriter, dramatist and actor. A graduate of the prestigious National Film School in Łódź, Skolimowski has directed more than twenty films since his 1960 début Oko wykol. In 1967 he was awarded the Golden Bear prize for his film Le départ. Among his other notable films is Deep End (1970), starring Jane Asher and John Moulder Brown. He lived in Los Angeles for over 20 years where he painted in a figurative, expressionist mode and occasionally acted in films. He returned to Poland, and to film making as a writer and director, after a 17-year hiatus with Cztery noce z Anną in 2008. He received the Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2016 Venice Film Festival.
The Leon Schiller National Film School is a Polish academy for future actors, directors, photographers, camera operators and television staff. It was founded on 8 March 1948 in Łódź (Lodz).
Jerzy Franciszek Kawalerowicz was a Polish film director and politician, having been a member of Polish United Workers' Party from 1954 until its dissolution in 1990 and a deputy in Polish parliament since 1985 until 1989.
Polish Film Award, or Eagle is a film awards ceremony given annually since 1999, with the first event held on 21 June, by the National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers (KIPA). Since 2003 they are given out by the Polish Film Academy. Their status in the Polish film industry can be compared with Academy Awards.
Andrzej Jakimowski is a Polish film director, writer and producer, best known for directing the films Squint Your Eyes and Tricks . He is an alumnus of Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice.
Krystyna Jolanta Janda is a Polish film and theater actress best known internationally for playing leading roles in several films by Polish director Andrzej Wajda, including Man of Marble and Man of Iron.
The Gdynia Film Festival is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk, now held in Gdynia, Poland.
Reverse is a 2009 Polish comedy-drama film, directed by Borys Lankosz.
The TOFIFEST International Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Toruń, Poland.
Andrzej Bart is a Polish novelist, screenwriter and film director. He is called the Polish Thomas Pynchon because he prefers "people talk about his books and films but leave him alone".
International Festival of Independent Cinema Off Camera is a film festival held in Kraków, Poland, with up to 400 screenings annually, seminars, international stars, guests and jury. It is the first event of its kind in the country based on creative dialog between world experts representing other independent film competitions such as the Sundance Film Festival and CineVegas, as well as festivals in Bangkok, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Busan, Dubai, Kolkata, Los Angeles, Reykjavík, Rotterdam, Toronto, and Venice. It is a festival of festivals with official backing from the City of Kraków with dozens of international sponsors and prominent partners including Poland's Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Lufthansa, Mercedes-Benz and Sony. In 2008–2014 the official name was "Off Plus Camera", since 2015 it is "PKO Off Camera".
Jewish Motifs International Film Festival is a major Jewish-themed film festival held annually in Warsaw, Poland. The festival has been held every year since 2004.
Jan Tadeusz Komasa is a Polish film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for directing Suicide Room (2011), Warsaw 44 (2014), and Corpus Christi (2019), which was nominated for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards. His previous works premiered and won awards at Tribeca Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Cannes, and Venice.
The Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School is a polish film and television school established in 1978 and based in Katowice, Poland. It is a full-time film school and offers MA courses in Directing, Cinematography and Photography, Film and Television Producing. Kieślowski Film School is allowed to award PhD degree. One of its first tutors was Krzysztof Kieślowski. It is a part of University of Silesia.
