This distinction is awarded to creators who, through the art of editing, imbue cinematic images with a unique rhythm, meaning, and emotional depth.

"In the world of cinema, there are artists whose work remains almost invisible, yet determines the rhythm of the story, the intensity of the emotions, and the way a film imprints itself on the viewer's memory. Milenia Fiedler belongs to this exceptional group—she is one of Poland’s most outstanding film editors, whose body of work has been shaping the history of contemporary Polish cinema for several decades (…).

Film editing is the art of making decisions—choosing the right look, gesture, silence, or moment to cut. In the hands of Milenia Fiedler, however, it becomes something more: an invisible structure which allows images to speak, builds tension, and guides the viewer through the characters' most complex emotions. Her extraordinary sensitivity, precision, and ability to tune into the inner rhythm of the story ensure that every film she helps create acquires its own distinctive language.

Born in Łódź, Milenia Fiedler was educated at the Film and TV Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), graduating with a specialization in film editing in 1989. Her artistic development has always gone hand in hand with her academic career. She earned a doctorate in the arts in 2005, followed four years later by a habilitation degree in film art.

Her impressive body of work comprises nearly 250 feature films, documentaries, series, and Television Theatre productions. Milenia Fiedler has collaborated with leading Polish filmmakers, consistently making a significant contribution to the narrative and emotional shape of their works.

She collaborated with Andrzej Wajda on Katyń, Sweet Rush (Tatarak), and Walesa: Man of Hope. She worked with Wojciech Marczewski on Time of Betrayal and Weiser, and with Janusz Majewski on the films The Eccentrics: The Sunny Side of the Street and Black Mercedes. Her filmography also includes Bodo Kox’s The Girl from the Wardrobe, Jerzy Stuhr’s Citizen, Filip Bajon’s The Dulska Ladies and The Butler, as well as Urszula Antoniak’s Naked Zone and Beyond Words.

Her collaboration with Krzysztof Zanussi holds a special place in Milenia Fiedler’s body of work. As an editor, she worked on films such as Foreign Body, Ether, Perfect Number, and Burnt Offering. Such a diverse filmography attests to her remarkable versatility—her ability to find the right rhythm in intimate psychological dramas, expansive historical narratives, and productions with more classical narrative structures alike.

Milenia Fiedler’s artistic sensibility has repeatedly earned the recognition of the film community. She is a two-time winner of the editing award at the Gdynia Film Festival, receiving the honour for Time of Treason and Weiser. For her editing work on the latter film, she also won the Polish Film Award (the Eagle).

She also received Eagle nominations for her work on Katyń, Wałęsa: Man of Hope, and The Butler.
Her achievements in documentary cinema were recognized with the Polish Filmmakers Association President’s Award for Best Editing for the film The Voice, presented at the Kraków Film Festival.

Milenia Fiedler not only plays an active role in shaping Polish cinema but has also been sharing her knowledge and experience with successive generations of filmmakers for over two decades. She is affiliated with the Lodz Film School, where she served as a lecturer in the Editing Department at the Faculty of Film and Television Directing and headed the Department from 2016 to 2020. She has significantly influenced the development of the curriculum and the shaping of young filmmakers, teaching them that editing is not merely a technical stage of production but one of the most important tools of cinematic storytelling.

She has served as Rector of the Lodz Film School since 2020 and was elected for a subsequent term in 2024. Her teaching and organizational activities are a natural extension of her artistic work, serving to create an environment where talent can flourish through knowledge, responsibility, and creative courage.

Milenia Fiedler is a member of the European Film Academy, the Polish Film Academy, and the Polish Film Editors Association. She has also frequently served on the juries of major Polish and international festivals, including Millennium Docs Against Gravity and the Gdynia Film Festival.

She shares a special bond with the Toruń festival. In 2023, she served on the Main Competition jury, helping to decide the recipients of the festival’s most prestigious awards. This time, she returns to Toruń as a guest and the recipient of an award honoring her own exceptional contribution to the art of film.

"The Toruń CAMERIMAGE Award for Film Editor recognizes both Milenia Fiedler’s impressive body of work and her extraordinary ability to construct meaning between successive shots. It is precisely there—in the convergence of image, sound, time, and emotion—that the artistry of this editor, who has long been a key figure in Polish film culture, reveals itself. We are honored that Milenia has accepted our invitation, will join us for the 34th edition of the Festival, and will receive the award," reads the laudatory statement published on the Camerimage Festival website. (camerimage.pl/pl/news/milenia-fiedler-z-nagroda-toruncamerimage-dla-montazystki)

Congratulations to our outstanding film editor, lecturer, and Rector!

The 34th edition of the Toruń CAMERIMAGE International Film Festival runs from 7 to 14, November, 2026, in Toruń.