Gdynia Film Festival | |
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![]() Golden Lions (Polish: Złote Lwy) | |
Awarded for | Excellence in cinematic achievements in Poland |
Location | Gdynia |
Country | Poland |
First awarded | 1974 |
Currently held by | Kos (2023) |
Website | festiwalgdynia |
The Gdynia Film Festival (until 2011: Polish Film Festival, Polish: Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych w Gdyni) is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk (1974–1986), now held in Gdynia, Poland.[1]
It has taken place every year since 1974, except in 1982 and 1983 when Poland was under martial law.
The organizers of the festival are the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland, Polish Film Institute (PISF), Polish Filmmakers Association, the Pomeranian Voivodeship Local Government as well as the port city of Gdynia.
The Polish Film Festival award is the Grand Prix Golden Lions (Polish: Złote Lwy), which is different from the Eagle (Polish: Orzeł), awarded at the Polish Film Awards and the Seattle Polish Film Festival (Seattle is the sister city of Gdynia).[2] Special awards include the Platinum Lions (Platynowe Lwy) conferred for lifetime achievements in cinema as well as the Audience Award. Krzysztof Kieślowski and Agnieszka Holland are so far the only film directors to have been awarded the Grand Prix three times. In 2020, Mariusz Wilczyński's Kill It and Leave This Town became the first ever animated film in the festival's history to be awarded the Golden Lions for Best Film.
The jury for the 2008 competition was headed by Robert Gliński, a director who had previously won at the festival.[3]