The Adam Mickiewicz Institute, in collaboration with Partners, invites students from international film and art schools to take on an unique creative challenge – creating an original film essay based on a creative interpretation of Andrzej Wajda’s films.

The WAJDA RE/FRAME competition is organized as part of the Andrzej Wajda Year 2026 celebrations, established by the Senate of the Republic of Poland, marking the 100th anniversary of the birth and 10th anniversary of the death of the outstanding director, a master of Polish and world cinema.

Participants will have access to extraordinary source material – five selected films by Andrzej Wajda, which they can creatively reinterpret and deconstruct. Adding new elements to the essay will be permitted – voice-over commentary, subtitles, or a sound layer. The goal – to create found footage film essays according to one’s own original creative concept.

The submitted essays will be evaluated by a Jury comprising: director and screenwriter Agnieszka Holland, Rector of the Lodz Film School Milenia Fiedler, director and screenwriter Kuba Mikurda, and Deputy Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute Olga Brzezińska. Criteria will include originality of interpretation, artistic level, conscious use of source material, and the ability to build film narrative.

The WAJDA RE/FRAME competition will provide an opportunity for young filmmakers to dialogue with classics of Polish and world cinema and exchange experiences with artists from around the world. Through the resulting film essays, we will see Wajda’s cinema in entirely new, contemporary forms – culturally and linguistically diverse.

The main prize for the best essay is an exceptional study visit to Poland following Andrzej Wajda’s footsteps. The program includes visits to places connected with the director’s life and work, meetings with renowned filmmakers, experts, and representatives of film institutions. Ten selected essays will be published on the YouTube channel of the Lodz Film School – a Competition Partner, and the best essay will be presented at the 42nd Warsaw Film Festival.

Who can apply?
– students over 18 currently enrolled in film schools or universities with film-related programs outside Poland
– applicants will need to provide confirmation of their student status from their university

Registration deadline: 30 June 2026
Submissions: 24 August 2026
Results announcement: 15 September 2026

Details and competition rules: wajdareframe.filmschool.lodz.pl. For general inquiries You can send an e-mail to: wajda.reframe@filmschool.lodz.pl. 

Organizer: Adam Mickiewicz Institute (IAM)

Partners: Documentary and Feature Film Studios in Warsaw (WFDiF), The Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Lodz

Project co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland

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