The festival opened with a show provided by the 3rd year students of the Acting Department of the Lodz Film School  who sang a musical song ("Skameruj mnie") to smoothly pass to an energetic performance presenting this year's Festival slogan “Why don’t you play it”.

Then, the Rector of the Lodz Film School, Prof. Mariusz Grzegorzek, welcomed everyone warmly from the stage and using the metaphor of theatre, referred to the present situation in Poland:  "As a society, we need to catch up with things we should have already learnt. Times are difficult, but it is not about waving guns of power in front of others. We do not need a revolution with gasoline bottles. It is necessary to talk!
Being downtrodden with this great effort, please remember that the most important spectacle is taking place around you. A phenomenon, whose power and significance, absolutely unpredictable twists and their strikingly predictable consequences, do not give you freedom of choice.
Auditions took place: we're all cast. More than ever. In the theatre of life, the tragic-comedy, which especially today, especially now requires great, juicy, uncompromising roles. In the theatre of the world, a performance in which your activity, personality and talent will decide about the future of this country, this world, these trees, those mistakenly in love, and the last living rhinoceros (which seems to be dead already).
Be open and generous. Recognize your potential - reasonably, but without fear. Save yourselves and others. Live actively, honestly and wisely, as beautifully as you can. You are needed so badly!"

And finally, the most important event of the first day of the Festival and most awaited one was the screening of the acting students’ graduation film and director’s debut in one - NIC NIE GINIE by Kalina Alabrudzińska. "This is the first time I attend this festival. The atmosphere reminds me of a combination of the Song Contest in Opole with a prison. " – joked the director speaking from the stage and introducing her film.

The film, being the recent graduation film of our acting students continues the tradition of the Lodz Film School, where apart from the graduation play, the students of the final year of acting make a full-length graduation film. The first graduation film to be made was "Singing Napkin" by Mariusz Grzegorzek, followed by: "Crystal Girl" by Artur Urbański, "Soyer" by Łukasz Barczyk and "Monument" by Jagoda Szelc.

After the screening, the coaches took everyone to the School for an OFFicial party...

Author of photos from the opening of the 37th DSF at the Nowy Theatre in Łódź: Adrian Jaszczak

Authors of photos from the OFFicial opening party of the 37th DSF at the Film School in Łódź: Ola Pawłowska & Weronika Jędrzejczak