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SUMMARY:Kinoteka Polish Film Festival 2026
UID:https://instytutpolski.pl/london/2026/01/26/kinoteka-polish-film-festival-2026/
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DESCRIPTION:4 February - 29 March 2026
The 24th Kinoteka Polish Film Festival, organised by the Polish Cultural
Institute in London, is back with a stunning line-up of the best of
contemporary and classic Polish cinema, documentaries and special events,
as well as a retrospective of films by Andrzej Wajda coinciding with the
100th anniversary of the iconic film director’s birth.
ANDRZEJ WAJDA: PORTRAITS OF HISTORY AND HUMANITY 
In 2026, the festival continues its tradition of retrospectives of grand
film directors, celebrating the centenary of Andrzej Wajda’s birth with a
retrospective taking place at BFI Southbank, ICA and Ciné Lumière that
spans six decades of the filmmaker’s work. Encompassing film screenings,
Q&As, talks and an exhibition, Andrzej Wajda: Portraits of History And
Humanity will present and analyse the Academy Award-winning director’s
politically engaged filmmaking career from his early years making films
under post-war communism to his work during the Solidarność movement.
‘The films I make come from my need to communicate with the audience. I
don’t make films for myself and the point is not that a film satisfies me
alone. The key thing is that it meets the audience, whether they were
expecting this film or not.’ - Andrzej Wajda
‘Wajda had a long, creative career and left behind an extraordinary
legacy. His works were inspiring around the world.’ - Martin Scorsese
Kinoteka begins on 4 February 2026 with an Opening Gala screening of
Wajda’s revered Ashes and Diamonds (Popiół i diament, 1958) at BFI
Southbank, showing from a 35mm print. On the final day of WWII, a young
Polish Resistance fighter is ordered to assassinate a Communist official.
With his target being a former comrade-in-arms, this triggers a moral
dilemma, calling into question all that was fought for. Defined by an
electrifying, iconic performance by Zbigniew Cybulski, this depiction of
Poland, poised between the horrors of WWII and an uncertain future, is
arguably Wajda’s greatest achievement, and a landmark of international
cinema. Highlights during the season include the director’s celebrated
first feature A Generation (Pokolenie, 1955); his acclaimed drama which
foretold the Polish Solidarity movement, Man of Marble (Człowiek z
marmuru, dir. Andrzej Wajda, 1977); French revolution drama Danton (1983),
and the Oscar-nominated Katyń (2007) about the execution of 22,000 Polish
army officers by the Soviets in 1940, during WWII.
CLOSING GALA 
Taking place at Cine Lumière on 29 March 2026, the Closing Gala of
Kinoteka 2026 is Brother (Brat, dir. Maciej Sobieszczański, 2025), a
powerful coming-of-age drama focused on a family where violence and
manipulation is always simmering under the surface. Dawid is a young man
who loves his brother and judo training but he struggles to meet his own
and his family’s expectations at home, at school and at the gym. Filip
Wiłkomirski plays fourteen year old Dawid and Agnieszka Grochowska (In
Darkness) shines as his demanding mother, dreaming of independence and
freedom from the influence of his imprisoned father. Jolanta Dylewska’s
camera emphasises the tight spaces, adding to the tension as each struggles
with making sacrifices and taking opportunities. 
NEW POLISH CINEMA
The New Polish Cinema strand explores community interaction and the
potential of working together. Kinoteka is delighted to screen two films
from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Jan Komasa (Corpus Christi). The Good Boy
(2025), a Polish-British co-production,is the director’s first English
language film, a dark, genre-blending fable starring Anson Boon as
transgressive bad boy Tommy who wakes up far away from home as the subject
of a ‘rehabilitation project’. Komasa’s follow up to The Good Boy is
Anniversary (Rocznica, 2025), a dystopian thriller with modern-day
relevance starring Diane Lane, Kyle Chandler, Phoebe Dynevor and Dylan
O’Brien that shows a family caught in the turmoil of a controversial new
political movement called 'The Change', as the country teeters on the brink
of collapse. Agnieszka Holland’s Franz (2025) is a bold, dynamic portrait
of young Franz Kafka that explores the essence of him (brilliantly
portrayed by Idan Weiss) as he navigates institutions of family, business
and state. Agnieszka Holland will present the UK Premiere gala screening of
Franz at BFI IMAX on 3 March, followed by an onstage Q&A. Taking
another brilliant historical figure as its subject, Chopin, A Sonata in
Paris(Chopin, Chopin!, dir. Michał Kwieciński, 2025) is a dazzling
interpretation of the Polish composer’s life. Home Sweet Home (Dom dobry,
dir. Wojciech Smarzowski, 2025) similarly examines domestic life, and asks
the question, ‘how well do we know the person we love?’. From the
director of Clergy (Kler, 2018) and Rose (Róża, 2011), thisis an intense
psychological drama that uncovers issues of domestic violence within Polish
society. In Laws 3 (Teściowie 3, dir. Jakub Michalczuk, 2025) is the
highly anticipated third instalment of the hit comedy in which the Chrapek
and Wilk families reunite, this time in the peaceful countryside, for a
christening. LARP: Love, Trolls and Other Quests (LARP: Milosc, trolle i
inne questy, dir. Kordian Kadziela, 2025) is an action-packed comedy
following the story of Sergiusz, whose passion for LARPing (live-action
role playing) makes him a victim of bullying until a new student arrives at
school. Photosensitive (Światłoczuła, dir. Tadeusz Śliwa, 2024) stars
TV actor Matylda Giegżno in her first film lead as a dynamic, fulfilled
social worker who is blind and whose life changes following a meeting with
a more reserved photographer (rising star Ignacy Liss). Simple and
intimate, this romantic drama shows how moving outside our comfort zones
can be empowering.
DOCUMENTARY & A TRIBUTE TO MARCEL ŁOZIŃSKI
This year, the festival presents three films in its Documentary strand.
Letters from Wolf Street + director Q&A (Listy z Wilczej, dir. Arjun
Talwar, 2025) documents the Warsaw street where Indian filmmaker Arjun
Talwar lives. Talking with neighbours and seeking to understand their
experience, Talwar offers a unique, personal view on his adopted country.
Enthusiastically received at the Berlin Film Festival, this is an intimate
and often humorous film offering opportunities to connect outside the
confines of national identity. Powerful and haunting, Trains + director
Q&A (Pociągi, dir. Maciej J. Drygas, 2024) won the top prize at the
prestigious International Documentary Film Festival and is crafted entirely
from international archive footage. It reveals both the joyous anticipation
and the profound tragedy associated with 20th century train travel as
everyday moments of commuting and tea-time contrast with the tragedies of
wartime and displacement. Lastly, Mr. Olbrychski + Daniel Olbrychski
Q&A(dir. Robert Wichrowski, 2025), examines the persona of revered
Polish actor Daniel Olbrychski, thought of as one of the greatest Polish
actors of his generation, who often performed in Andzrej Wajda's films.
Olbrychski’s professional successes are intertwined with his personal
failures. The festival will also honour the legacy of Marcel Łoziński. A
master of ethical provocation and humanist observation, he reshaped the
language of non-fiction film by questioning the boundaries between truth,
manipulation, and authorship. Films screening: The Visit (1974, 15 mins),
Workshop Exercises (1986, 12 mins), 89mm from Europe(1993, 12 mins),
Anything Can Happen (1995, 40 mins).
A TRIBUTE TO KIEŚLOWSKI: CINEMA, PERFORMANCE, TECHNOLOGY
Kinoteka will mark the 30th anniversary of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s
passing, with a programme featuring his early documentary shorts, alongside
landmark feature films A Short Film About Killing (Krótki film o
zabijaniu, 1988),  A Short Film About Love (Krótki film o miłości, 1988)
and The Double Life of Veronique (Podwójne życie Weroniki, 1991).
Audiences can take part in the world premiere of Call Kieślowski, an
innovative AI project that allows attendees to engage in conversation with
Kieślowski, and Kieślowski collaborators and actors will also join for a
Q&A.
UNTOLD WAJDA: BLOKOWISKO AT SOUTHBANK CENTRE
Inspired by the notes and interviews of Andrzej Wajda, BLOKOWISKO - the
Polish term for a housing estate - fuses electro‑acoustic sound, socially
charged choreography and immersive videography into a landscape of loss and
resilience. The performance tells of an actor who meets a woman, they share
a single day, and the next morning he cannot find his way back to her
through the endless housing blocks of an unforgiving city. By giving form
to a story Andrzej Wajda imagined but never filmed, the work honours his
legacy while insisting on its relevance today.
KINOTECHA - AI IN THE FILM INDUSTRY CONFERENCE - SAMSUNG KX
Hosted at Samsung QX, Kinotecha is a full-day conference that examines how
artificial intelligence is transforming the film industry. In ‘Design
& AI’, poster artists Andrzej Klimowski and Tomasz Opasiński explore
how machine learning is reshaping visual storytelling and its use in PR
& Marketing. Other sessions include ‘Audiences & Ethics of AI’
and ‘Sound, Marketing & AI’.
PIXELS & PIEROGIES: POLISH & UKRAINIAN MASHUP OF CINEMA, ART &
FOOD
Kinoteka is once again partnering with KX Coal Drops Yard for a series of
events, 2-29 March. The event will include daily screenings of
award-winning films from Warsaw’s Wajda School; an AI project dedicated
to the iconic Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski; Ukrainian fashion and
jewellery; charity haircuts by former Ukrainian soldiers; as well as
‘Food Wars: Pierogies vs Dumplings’. 
FAMILY SCREENING
Following the festival’s 2024 screening of The Dog Who Travelled by Train
(O psie, który jeździł koleją), this year’s family screening is the
hotly anticipated sequel The Dog Who Travelled by Train 2 (O psie, który
jeździł koleją 2, dir. Magdalena Nieć, 2025), which picks up with Zuzia
preparing to return to Poland after her surgery and her life at the station
where Lampo the white Swiss Shepherd dog lives. Retaining the spirit of the
original book by Roman Pisarski, this is a heart warming, adventure packed
tale for the whole family to enjoy.
London venues: BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX, ICA, Ciné Lumière, Barbican,
Southbank Centre, The Garden Cinema, Bertha Dochouse, Coal Drops Yard Kings
Cross, Samsung Kings Cross, Ognisko Polskie - The Polish Hearth Club
UK Venues: Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle; The Ultimate
Picture Palace, Oxford. More cities and venues to be announced soon.
For further information: https://kinoteka.org.uk
Facebook: @PolishFilmFestivalKinoteka
X: @PLInst_London
Instagram: @polish_culture
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