In 2025, we mark the 25th anniversary of the Honorary Oscar awarded to Andrzej Wajda for lifetime achievement – an honor that cemented his status as one of the most important directors in the history of world cinema. To celebrate this milestone, following the event held in March at Kino Luna in Warsaw, we have prepared a unique international project aimed at honoring the legacy of a filmmaker whose name is mentioned alongside Bergman, Fellini, and Kurosawa, and whose work continues to inspire directors such as Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Ford Coppola.
As part of the 20th anniversary edition of the New York Polish Film Festival, we invite American audiences to screenings of Andrzej Wajda’s greatest and most compelling films, as well as to a discussion panel featuring Polish and American experts. A key element of each event will be a reflection on the enduring relevance of the themes Wajda explored – freedom, democracy, and civic engagement – and their importance in today’s world.
The project will continue in the fall with events in Los Angeles, followed by a celebration in Warsaw in 2026 to mark the 100th anniversary of Andrzej Wajda’s birth.
The “25 Years Since Wajda’s Oscar” project is a tribute to a body of work that transcends cultural and temporal boundaries, to an artist who used the language of cinema to build bridges of understanding, and to the values that – like his films – remain as vital today as when they were first created.
PROGRAM OF THE NEW YORK POLISH FILM FESTIVAL
MAY 27 – JUNE 1, 2025
TUESDAY, MAY 27
Scandinavia House, 60 Park Ave, New York
5:00 PM – Opening Reception
6:00 PM – Kanal / Kanał (1957), dir. Andrzej Wajda – 1h 31min
Approx. 7:40 PM – Films by Andrzej Wajda – panel discussion with Prof. Annette Insdorf (Columbia University) and Rafał Syska (Jagiellonian University)
8:30 PM – Under the Volcano / Pod wulkanem (2024), dir. Damian Kocur – 1h 45min
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28
DGA Theater, 110 West 57th Street, New York
OPENING NIGHT
7:15 PM – Ashes and Diamonds / Popiół i diament (1958), dir. Andrzej Wajda – 1h 43min
THURSDAY, MAY 29
Scandinavia House, 60 Park Ave, New York
6:15 PM – Everything for Sale / Wszystko na sprzedaż (1969), dir. Andrzej Wajda – 1h 45min
8:15 PM – The Promised Land / Ziemia obiecana (1975), dir. Andrzej Wajda – 2h 50min
FRIDAY, MAY 30
Scandinavia House, 60 Park Ave, New York
4:30 PM – Forest / Las (2024, documentary), dir. Lidia Duda – 1h 24min
6:15 PM – Katyn / Katyń (2007), dir. Andrzej Wajda – 2h 1min
8:30 PM – The Girl with the Needle / Dziewczyna z igłą (2024), dir. Magnus von Horn – 2h 3min
SATURDAY, MAY 31
Scandinavia House, 60 Park Ave, New York
1:30 PM – Man of Iron / Człowiek z żelaza (1981), dir. Andrzej Wajda – 2h 26min
4:30 PM – The True Story of Tamara Łempicka & The Art of Survival (2024), dir. Julie Rubio – 1h 36min
6:30 PM – Kulej. All That Glitters Isn’t Gold / Kulej. Dwie strony medalu (2024), dir. Xawery Żuławski – 2h 28min
Organizatorzy:
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland from the Culture Promotion Fund.
The event is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
Sponsors:
Media Partner:
