Grzegorz Dębowski’s What Belongs to Others has won the Warsaw Grand Prix at the 42nd Warsaw International Film Festival, which ran from 9-18 October. The Polish director thus receives PLN 120,000 (approximately €27,450), funded by the Mayor of Warsaw. The film, which previously premiered in Venice’s Orizzonti, has been praised by the jury for its delicate storytelling, performances and non-judgemental portrait of a woman who finds the possibility to transform her own life while assuming a stranger’s identity.

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In the International Competition, Cai Chengjie received the Best Director Award and PLN 10,000 (€2,287) for Suzhou Quartet. The jury highlighted its formal ambition, with four stories unfolding simultaneously to create a layered reflection on life and mortality. Maria Dębska won the Special Jury Award, worth PLN 5,000 (€1,143), for her performance in Maciej Sobieszczański’s Through the Wall. The film also received the FIPRESCI Award for its unconventional prison-set love story, distinctive black-and-white cinematography and message of human connection. Jens Sjögren’s Bloody Men earned a Special Mention.

Lorin Terezi’s Agia won the 1-2 Competition, dedicated to first and second fiction features, receiving PLN 10,000. The jury praised the completeness of the debut and its portrayal of a young woman resisting patriarchal tradition. Urša Menart’s Sarajevo-premiered Everything That’s Wrong with You received a Special Mention.

The Documentary Competition’s main award and PLN 5,000 went to Jonas Spriestersbach’s Meanwhile in Namibia, recognised for its precise visual language and willingness to leave moral interpretation to the viewer. María Molina Peiró’s Like Any Other Mortal received a Special Mention.

Elisabeth Werchosin’s Meteorit won both the Short Grand Prix and the Best Live-action Short Film Award. Dylan Glynn’s Knowing Gaze took home Best Animated Short, while Sina Aghazadeh’s A Letter to Home received Best Documentary Short.

Alongside the screenings, Warsaw Industry Days reported increased submissions to its Co-Production Forum, growing delegate interest and new international partnerships. The forum presented ten projects in development and six works in progress through pitches, consultations and one-to-one meetings.

Myro Klochko’s Letters to the Future won the ORKA Award, comprising €10,000 in picture post-production services, and producer Julia Jendrysik Stolecka received the forum’s €5,000 Polish Film Institute Award for Mother Daughter, directed by Marta Ojrzyńska.

The €3,000 No Problemo Music Award went to Eglė Vertelytė’s Funny and Sad Life of George. Oleksandr Krasenkov, producer of It Will Happen, received the When East Meets West Inspirational Lab Award. The partnership with the Trieste-based WEMW offers him participation in one of its labs, supporting his exploration of new formats and business models.

Warsaw Industry Days also hosted Warsaw Next, which provided development consultations and industry connections for emerging filmmakers, and the FIPRESCI Warsaw Critics Project, which offered training for emerging critics from Central and Eastern Europe. Under the theme “The Rules of Attraction. Where Stories Meet Audiences”, Warsaw Industry Talks examined audience engagement throughout development, production, distribution and promotion, and its programme included the KIPA Summit, organised with the Polish Producers Alliance, and discussions on international co-production, virtual production, sustainability, European film promotion and audience research. Partners contributed a Filmmakers Europe panel, a Wajda School pitching session, Doc Lab Poland consultations and public lectures, and a panel co-organised with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Recommended by PFI presented a new Polish film as a work in progress.

Here is the list of award winners at the 42nd Warsaw International Film Festival:

International Competition

Warsaw Grand Prix
What Belongs to Others – Grzegorz Dębowski (Poland)

Best Director
Cai Chengjie – Suzhou Quartet (China)

Special Jury Award
Maria Dębska - Through the Wall (Poland)

Special Mention
Bloody Men – Jens Sjögren (Sweden)

1-2 Competition

Best Film
Agia – Lorin Terezi (Albania/Montenegro/Austria)

Special Mention
Everything That's Wrong with You – Urša Menart (Slovenia/Germany/Serbia)

Documentary Competition

Best Documentary
Meanwhile in Namibia – Jonas Spriestersbach (Germany/Namibia)

Special Mention
Like Any Other Mortal – María Molina Peiró (Netherlands/Spain)

Short Film Competition

Short Grand Prix and Best Live Action Short Film
Meteorit – Elisabeth Werchosin (Germany/Moldova)

Best Animated Short Film
Knowing Gaze – Dylan Glynn (Canada)

Best Documentary Short Film
A Letter to Home – Sina Aghazadeh (Germany)

Other awards

FIPRESCI Award
Through the Wall – Maciej Sobieszczański

Young FIPRESCI Award
Lover, Not a Fighter – Martina Buchelová (Slovakia/Czech Republic)

NETPAC Award
Mentor – Keisuke Yoshida (Japan)

Ecumenical Jury Award
The Child – Linda Olte (Latvia/Lithuania)

Polish Film Institute Award (Audience favourite in the Encounters section)
Josephine – Beth de Araújo (USA)

Warsaw Industry Days

ORKA Award (€10,000 in post-production services)
Letters to the Future - Myro Klochko (Czech Republic/Ukraine)
Production: Karolína Dvorská Fránková, Marek Čermák (Films & Chips), Veronika Stepanchuk (Balcony 48)

Polish Film Institute Award (€5,000)
Julia Jendrysik Stolecka, producer of Mother Daughter (Marta Ojrzyńska, Poland)

No Problemo Music Award (€3,000)
Funny and Sad Life of George - Eglė Vertelytė (Lithuania)
Production: Lukas Trimonis (In Script)

When East Meets West Inspirational Lab Award
Oleksandr Krasenkov, producer of It Will Happen (Anna Mihunova, Ukraine/Sweden)

Polish Screenwriters Guild Award
Tatjana Standky – Pink Elephants

KIPA Best Producing Debut Award (PLN 50,000)
Dagmara Piasecka – Pixie (Poland/Czech Republic)

KIPA Special Mention (PLN 10,000)
Karolina Śmigiel and Jarosław Wszędybył – Letters from Wolf Street (Poland/Germany)

Speakers’ Avenue Film School Award
The Death of a Bird – Felipe Sánchez García (Colombia, short film)

ORLEN Award for Best Polish Short Film
Dying of the Young Deer – Angelika Cygal (Poland)