27th AAPFF Retrospective
In spite of the challenges of the pandemic, the 27th AAPFF was held online from November 6th through 8th, 2020. We missed our audience very much but were happy that you all could watch Polish movies in the safety of your own homes.
The Festival’s program included:
4 feature films
Europa Europa, dir. Agnieszka Holland
Icarus: The Legend of Mietek Kosz, dir. Maciej Pieprzyca
I never cry, dir. Piotr Domalewski
Code Name: Challenge, dir. Maciej Dutkiewicz
4 documentaries
House of Writers, dir. Marek Gajczak
We, the people, dir. Ewa Ewart
On the Top Tyrryry, dir. Renata Kijowska
The Neurosurgeon, dir. Magdalena Zagała
4 short films
Tumble, dir. Milena Dutkowska
Marcel, dir. Marcin Mikulski
View to the Wall, dir. Kobas Laks
Ricochets, dir. Jakub Radej
We welcomed two virtual guests, director Agnieszka Holland and director Kobas Laksa. The interviews with both of them were available for viewing during the entire Festival.
Our Documentary and Short Film Competition received 54 submissions. Ewa Pięta Award for the Best Documentary and Andrzej Dolata Award for the Best Debut were given to Magda Zagała for the film The Neurosurgeon. The Best Short Film Award was given to Kobas Laksa for the film View to the Wall. The winners received a $500 cash prize along with the AAPFF Teardrop Statuette.
The Festival organizers thank the viewers and sponsors for their continued participation and financial support.
We are looking forward to seeing you at the 28th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival in November. Hopefully in person this time.
2020 Film Competition Winners
We are thrilled to announce:
Ewa Pięta Award for Best Documentary
is given to Magda Zagała
for the film Neurochirurg/The Neurosurgeon
Andrzej Dolata Award for Best Debut
is given to Magda Zagała
for the film Neurochirurg/The Neurosurgeon
Best Short Film Award
is given to Kobas Laksa
for the film Okno z widokiem na ścianę/View to the Wall
Congratulations to the winners!
It is Tonight!
Despite all odds, the 27th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival starts virtually at 7 pm tonight!
We miss our audience very much but we are sure you all will have a good time watching Polish movies in the safety and comfort of your own homes. You have many to choose: feature films, documentaries, short films and interviews with filmmakers.
We’d love to still be able to commemorate the event with pictures of you and your families watching safely at home. Please send in any images you can to pcfannarbor@gmail.com
Check out the newest Festival Booklet (click here), watch (click here) and enjoy!
The Virtual Festival Program is Here!
We are happy to meet again to watch an exciting selection of Polish films. Despite many challenges of the pandemic, here is what is heading your way. We are offering three most recent feature films, Code Name: Challenge by Maciej Dutkiewicz, Icarus: The Legend of Mietek Kosz by Maciej Pieprzyca and I never cry by Piotr Domalewski.
We are proud to present our special virtual guest, Agnieszka Holland in an interview available for viewing during the entire Festival. Retrospectively, you can watch one of Holland’s most well-known films, Europa Europa from 1990.
We also have an amazing and free of charge lineup of very unique documentaries and short films selected in a juried competition.
Click here to view the program and find additional information.
Thank You our Virtual Audience!
2020 Festival Poster
We are thrilled to release this year’s amazing poster!
It is designed by Magda Zasłona based on a painting by Krystyna Dolata.
The poster is available to buy. We are offering the 18×24-sized poster for $50 including shipping anywhere in the world. If you would like to purchase our poster, please email at
pcfannarboe@gmail.com.
Stay tuned for more information about our virtual Festival!
2020 Film Competition Lineup
The Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival is pleased to reveal the lineup of documentaries and short films selected for the upcoming 27th Festival, taking place November 6 through 8, 2020.
Documentaries:
Dom literatów czyli kartoteka zebrana/House of Writers
My naród/We, the people
Na Górze Tyrryry/On the Top Tyrryry
Neurochirurg/The Neurosurgeon
Short Films:
Fikołek/Tumble
Marcel/Marcel
Okno z widokiem na ścianę/View to the Wall
Rykoszety/Ricochets
Congratulations to all of you!
The AAPFF amid COVID-19
As the 27th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival approaches, the Polish Cultural Fund – Ann Arbor and the Festival Organizing Committee are responding to the global pandemic challenge with creativity and speed. As always, we uphold our mission of promoting Polish cinematography. Perhaps more than ever, the art of film sustains our spirits in the current struggles.
The 27th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival will take place online, in accordance with the current COVID-19 State of Michigan restrictions and the Michigan Theater safety guidelines.
From November 6th through 8th, 2020, the 27th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival will regale with jury-awarded documentaries and short films, the latest selection of Polish feature films and online chats and Q&A sessions with select filmmakers.
2020 Film Submissions
The 2020 film submissions are now open, and we are seeking a selection of the best new documentary and short narrative films. Winners are awarded in three categories:
Ewa Pięta Award for Best Documentary Film
Andrzej Dolata Award for Best Debut
Best Short Film Award for Best Short Narrative Film
The submission deadline is August 1, 2020. Please visit our Film Competition Page to read the Submission Rules 2020 and to submit your film.
We look forward to seeing your latest production!
Oscar 2020 Film Nominations
A year after Paweł Pawlikowski’s Zimna wojna/Cold War, Jan Komasa’s powerful Boże Ciało/Corpus Christi has been nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best International Feature. It will compete against Les Misérables (France), Pain and Glory (Spain), Parasite (South Korea) and Honeyland (North Macedonia). The winner will be announced during the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony on February 9, 2020.
We are so proud that we could show Boże Ciało/Corpus Christi during our 26th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival!
2019 Film Competition winners
The 26th AAPFF is pleased to announce:
Ewa Pięta Award for Best Documentary
is given to Eric Bednarski for the film Warszawa: miasto podzielone/Warsaw: A City Divided.
Andrzej Dolata Award for Best Debut
is given to Stanisław Horodecki for the film Na strajk!/On Strike!
Best Short Film Award
is given to Stanisław Horodecki for the film Na strajk!/On Strike!
Congratulations to the winners!
2019 Festival Poster
We are thrilled to release this year’s amazing poster designed by Magda Zasłona.
We can’t wait to meet all of you at the Michigan Theater in just a few short weeks!
The Festival Program is here!
Please check out our festival program. You will not want to miss any of these exciting films. Obywatel Jones/Mr. Jones and Boże Ciało/Corpus Christi both received awards at the 2019 Gdynia Film Festival.
Obywatel Jones/Mr. Jones by Agnieszka Holland won the Golden Lions for the best feature film. Meanwhile, Boże Ciało/Corpus Christi by Jan Komasa received Best Directing,
Best Screenplay and the Audience Award. Furthermore, Boże Ciało/Corpus Christi is a Polish submission to the 92nd Academy Awards (2019), competing for an Oscar in the Best International Feature Film category.
Click here to view the program and find all the information you need to enjoy this year’s festival.
2019 Film Competition
The Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival is pleased to reveal the lineup of short films and documentaries selected for the upcoming 26th Festival, taking place November 8 through 10, 2019. Winners will be announced at the festival opening in the Michigan Theater on November 8th at 7pm.
DOCUMENTARIES
Arabski sekret/Arabic Secret dir. Julia Groszek
Cudzoziemcy w Powstaniu Warszawskim/Foreigners in the Warsaw Uprising dir. Małgorzata Brama
Jeszcze lecimy/Still Flying dir. Mirosław Dembiński
Mała zagłada/A Minor Genocide dir. Natalia Koryncka-Gruz
Warszawa: miasto podzielone/Warsaw: A City Divided dir. Eric Bednarski
SHORT FILMS
Badylok/Badylok dir. Karolina Kłapkowska
Miasteczko/Small Town dir. Daria Kopiec
Na strajk! /On Strike! dir. Stanisław Horodecki
Ostatni dzień lata/Last Day of Summer dir. Aleksandra Czenczenk
Piołun/Bitter Herb dir. Maria Ornaf
Silny niezależny kosmos/Strong Independent Space dir. Damian Krakowiak
Submissions for the 2019 Film Competition are closed
Submissions for the 2019 Film Competition are already closed. Thank you to everyone who submitted their films to the Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival and best of luck!
Selections will be announced mid-September 2019. If you missed the deadline, stay tuned for next year’s call!
26th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival
and the 2019 Submissions
We have good news!
The 26th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival will be held November 8 – 10, 2019.
2019 Submissions are now open, and we are seeking a selection of the best new documentary and short narrative films.
Winners are awarded in three categories:
Ewa Pięta Award for Best Documentary Film
Andrzej Dolata Award for Best Debut
Best Short Film Award for Best Short Narrative Film
The submission deadline is August 1, 2019. Please visit our Film Competition page to read the Submission Rules 2019 and to submit your film.
We look forward to seeing your latest productions!
The 25th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival Retrospective
We celebrated the Festival in a special way through rich programming and exciting events with distinguished guests.
We started with the Gala Reception to mark the achievement of 25 years of the Festival, and to express appreciation to all who contributed to the Festival’s success: organizers, sponsors, and most of all, the viewers.
The Festival coincided with the 100th Anniversary of Poland’s Regained Independence and we joined world-wide celebration with a series of Polish historical films presented in the weeks preceding the Festival.
In all, the Festival’s program included 18 films: 7 feature films, 2 animations, 4 short films and 5 documentaries, with many showings at full-capacity.
We welcomed 7 guests, film director Krzysztof Zanussi, Sławomir Grünberg, Katarzyna Dąbkowska-Kułacz and Filip Bajon with his film team – Olga Bieniek, Marlena Kreńska and Marzena Mróz.
Our Documentary and Short Film Competition received a record of 55 submissions. The winners were Katarzyna Dąbkowska-Kułacz (Best Documentary), Mateusz Gołębiewski (Best Debut) and Pat Howl Kostyszyn (Best Short Film).
The Festival’s organizers thank the viewers and sponsors for their continued participation and financial support.
We are looking forward to seeing you at the 2019 Festival!
The Festival Opening Gala 2018
2018 Award Winners Announced
The Jury of the 25th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival
is pleased to announce the winners for the 2018 Documentary and Short Film Competition:
Ewa Pięta Award for the Best Documentary
Niebo bez gwiazd / A Sky Without Stars
dir. Katarzyna Dąbkowska-Kułacz
Andrzej Dolata Award for the Best Debut
Praca / Labor
dir. Mateusz Gołębiewski
Best Short Film Award
Tamtej nocy / Off the Hook
dir. Pat Howl Kostyszyn
100 Years of Poland's Regained Independence
POLISH HISTORY IN FILM MASTERPIECES
To celebrate the 100th years of Poland’s regained independence, the Polish Filmmakers Association is presenting a series of films with a historical theme. The idea behind the project is to disseminate knowledge of Polish art and history by presenting films of outstanding artistic quality. The films selected show various historical periods, and offer insight into Polish history from the viewpoint of several generations, ranging from Andrzej Wajda, now a classic figure of Polish cinema, to Jan Komasa, a representative of our youngest filmmakers. Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival is proud to host and co-sponsor the series Polish History in Film Masterpieces.
- OCTOBER 3, 7:00 PM „NIGHTS AND DAYS”
- OCTOBER 10, 6:45 PM „PROMISED LAND”
- OCTOBER 17, 7:00 PM „THE PIANIST”
- OCTOBER 24, 7:00 PM „ASHES AND DIAMONDS”
- OCTOBER 31, 7:00 PM „MAN OF MARBLE”
- NOVEMBER 10, 5:10 PM „WARSAW 44”
- FREE ADMISSION
NOCE I DNIE / NIGHTS AND DAYS
dir. Jerzy Antczak
1975, drama, 245 min.
This epic family drama based on Maria Dąbrowska’s novel Noce i dnie tells the story of the Niechcic family. In 1914, in the war-torn Kaliniec, Barbara Niechcic remembers her youth, love, marriage and family life in the countryside.
ZIEMIA OBIECANA / THE PROMISED LAND
dir. Andrzej Wajda
1974, drama, 169 min.
Drama based on a novel 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.
POPIÓŁ I DIAMENT / ASHES AND DIAMONDS
dir. Andrzej Wajda
1958, drama, 97 min.
It is May 1945, and Nazi Germany has just surrendered. The war is over, but not in Poland. As the German soldiers vacate, the remaining Russian forces and Polish resistance fighters must work out the hierarchies of power in “liberated” Communist Poland.
CZŁOWIEK Z MARMURU / MAN OF MARBLE
dir. Andrzej Wajda
1976, drama, 160 min.
In repressive Poland, documentary filmmaker Agnieszka works on a film about Birkut, a bricklayer who had briefly been hailed as a hero of the proletariat in the 50s, but then disappeared into obscurity. In piecing together details about the bricklayer’s mysterious life, she discovers that his involvement in organized labor had been viewed negatively by party bosses, and that her own investigations could put her in danger.
MIASTO 44 / WARSAW' 44
dir. Jan Komasa
2014, drama, 130 min.
A story of love, friendship and the pursuit of adventure during the bloody and brutal reality of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.