The Captains of the 19th Łódź Film School Film Review in Warsaw will be:

* AGNIESZKA SMOCZYŃSKA
* PAWEŁ ŁOZIŃSKI
* ŁUKASZ ŻAL

The jury will award the following prizes from among all fiction, documentary and animated films:

- The Grand Prize of PLN 15,000.00 for the director of the Best Film at the 19th Lodz Film School Film Festival "Łodzią po Wiśle". The Prize is funded by the Polish Film Institute;

- Prizes in three categories: Best Fiction Film, Best Documentary Film, and Best Animated Film at the 19th Lodz Film School Film Festival "Łodzią po Wiśle," worth PLN 5,000.00 each. The prizes are funded by the Polish Filmmakers Association.

AGNIESZKA SMOCZYŃSKA
A film and theatre director; her work is characterized by a bold approach to form, originality, and visual sophistication. Agnieszka Smoczyńska's films address socially relevant themes while simultaneously playing with form and genre. The director combines elements of fairy tale, horror, and social drama; she is interested in identity, interpersonal relationships, and emotions. Her protagonists are often strong female figures who transcend traditional social roles. She made her debut in 2015 with "The Lure"—a groundbreaking horror-musical mashup that won awards worldwide, including at the Sundance Film Festival, and is part of the prestigious Criterion Collection. Her second feature film, "Fugue," premiered at Cannes as part of the Critics' Week section. Four years later, she made her English-language debut, "SilentTwins," based on the true story of sisters June and Jennifer Gibbons, who, refusing contact with the outside world, began communicating exclusively with each other using a language they created. The film premiered in the UnCertainRegard section of the Cannes Film Festival and won the Golden Lion at the Gdynia Film Festival. Agnieszka Smoczyńska also participated in the European Cinema: Ten Women Filmmakers to Watch programme. She is also a recipient of the Global Filmmaking Award, sponsored by the Sundance Institute. Last year, she directed Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Simon Boccanegra" at the National Opera in Warsaw and Alek Nowak's opera "The Voice of the Monster," an adaptation of Agnieszka Holland's film "Europa Europa." She is currently working on her next English-language feature film, "Hot Spot."

PAWEŁ ŁOZIŃSKI
Polish director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and documentary film producer. Author of over 20 award-winning documentaries at Polish and international festivals, he creates emotionally charged, auteur documentaries which tell the story of people in an intimate way. He gained international recognition with his documentary debut film, "Birthplace" (1992). The subsequent films "Sisters", "Such a Story", "Chemistry", "Father and Son", "You Have No Idea How Much I Love You", "Balcony Film" - considered innovative, open up new thematic fields and unknown spaces in documentary film. Artistic supervisor of dozens of student films and documentary debuts. Graduate of the Film and Television Directing Department of the Lodz Film School. Member of the Polish Film Academy, the Polish Filmmakers Association, the European Film Academy, and the Board of the Polish Documentary Directors Guild.


ŁUKASZ ŻAL
A two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer: for "Ida"—with Ryszard Lenczewski—and "Cold War"; he also won the ASC Award and the Silver Frog Award at Camerimage. He collaborated with Paweł Pawlikowski on "Ida" and "Cold War" and with Jonathan Glazer on "Interest Zone" (Grand Prix Cannes 2023, Oscar for Best International Feature Film 2024). His portfolio also includes such feature films as "The Here After," "On the Border," "Dovlatov" and "Maybe It's Time to End It," the documentary "Icon" and the animated film "Loving Vincent." His latest film, "Hamnet", directed by Chloé Zhao, won the People's Choice Award at TIFF 2025, the Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Film, a Golden Frog nomination at Camerimage and 8 Oscar nominations. A member of the American Film Academy, the European Film Academy, and the Polish Society of Cinematographers, he graduated from the Cinematography and Television Production Department of the Lodz Film School.

The programme: lodziapowisle.pl

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See you on board of the 19th ŁpW!

photos (from the left):
Paweł Łoziński, photo by Piotr Jaxa
Agnieszka Smoczyńska, photo by Zuza Krajewska
Łukasz Żal, private archive