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.
The 40th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival took place from 1 to 9 July 2005. The Crystal Globe was won by My Nikifor, a Polish drama film directed by Krzysztof Krauze. The second prize, the Special Jury Prize was won by What a Wonderful Place, an Israeli drama film directed by Eyal Halfon. English film director and screenwriter Michael Radford was the Grand Jury President of the festival.
The 62nd annual Venice International Film Festival opened on 31 August 2005 with Tsui Hark's Seven Swords and closed on 10 September 2005 with a screening of Peter Ho-sun Chan's musical Perhaps Love. The lineups were announced by the festival director Marco Müller on 28 July 2005 in Rome. The digital films can compete in all categories for the first time of the festival history.
The 56th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2006. The festival opened with Snow Cake by Marc Evans. Digitally restored version of Sam Peckinpah's 1972 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid served as the closing film. British actress Charlotte Rampling was selected as the head of the jury. The Golden Bear was awarded to Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams directed by Jasmila Žbanić.
The International Film Festival of Kerala is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. The festival is held in November or December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading cultural events in India.
Wojciech Smarzowski is a Polish screenwriter and director. He studied filmmaking at the Jagiellonian University and the National Film School in Łódź (1990). His 2004 film, The Wedding earned special jury mention at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2005. He began his film career as a video camera operator.
Jan Cvitkovič is a Slovenian film director, screenwriter and actor.
Łukasz Karwowski is a Polish film director, screenwriter and producer.
Zlín Film Festival, also known as the International Film Festival for Children and Youth is an annual festival of children's film in Zlín in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1961 in the former Czechoslovakia, the festival gradually gained international attention. The audience consists mainly of children and youth from the Zlín region, but also university students and adult visitors who come to late-night screenings with appropriate dramaturgy, as well as film professionals from around the world.
Ursula Meier is a French-Swiss film director and screenwriter.
Ryszard Jakub Bober is a Polish politician who is a current Chairperson of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Regional Assembly.
Szymon Lenkowski is a Polish cinematographer and director based in Hollywood.
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".
CinEast or Central and Eastern European Film Festival is an annual non-profit film festival held at various venues around Luxembourg in October.
The 65th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 February 2015, with American film director Darren Aronofsky as the President of the Jury. German film director Wim Wenders was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear. The first seven films of the festival were announced on 15 December 2014. Isabel Coixet's Nobody Wants the Night was announced as the opening film.
Life Feels Good is a 2013 Polish drama film directed by Maciej Pieprzyca.
The 66th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2016, with American actress Meryl Streep as the President of the Jury. The Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement was presented to German cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. Hail, Caesar!, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, was selected to open the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Italian documentary Fire at Sea, directed by Gianfranco Rosi, which also serves as closing night film.
The 74th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 30 August to 9 September 2017. The jury president was announced as the actress Annette Bening on 5 July 2017. Downsizing, directed by Alexander Payne, was selected to open the festival. The Golden Lion, the highest prize given by the festival, was awarded to The Shape of Water, directed by Guillermo del Toro.
The 67th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 18 February 2017 with Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven as President of the Jury. Django, directed by Etienne Comar, opened the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Hungarian film On Body and Soul directed by Ildikó Enyedi, which also served as closing film of the festival.
The 41st Moscow International Film Festival was held from 18 April to 25 April 2019.
