Lubelski Festiwal Filmowy • About LFF 2025

Lublin Film Festival will take place for the 19th time on 20-29 November 2025

This year’s festival theme has sparked both surprise and doubt among some people. The State seems like a difficult, often controversial, or even risky topic. Our inspiration came from the 1000th anniversary of the coronation of Poland’s first two kings – Bolesław the Brave and Mieszko II Lambert. We began with the assumption that, on some level, the meaning of the state is obvious. However, when our team delved deeper into the theme, we discovered that each of us understood it in very different ways. We have tried to reflect that diversity in the program.

We have prepared 30 blocks of short films that reflect the themes most frequently explored in contemporary cinema. This year’s program also includes 18 feature films – 8 in competition and 10 presented as special screenings.

We are revisiting film adaptations of the works of Stefan Żeromski, which played an important role in shaping the patriotic narrative of then newly formed Second Polish Republic. We will also present various adaptations of “The Peasants” by Władysław Reymont – a novel that masterfully portrays the landscape and spirit of the Polish countryside at the turn of the century. A special section dedicated to the anniversary of the Polish Radio highlights the importance of this medium in providing broad access to culture. Janusz Majewski’s “Hotel Pacific” – an outstanding adaptation of Henryk Worcell’s novel – it is a universal story about the abuse of power and its consequences.

Our discussion panels will focus on the distinctiveness of Polish cinema and the relationship between artistic creation and state patronage. Meanwhile, a musical improvisation by Czuła Obserwacja, set to a montage of propaganda films prepared by Michał Bobrowski, seeks to reverse the logic of propaganda, expose methods of manipulation, and – through process of deconstruction – give the work a new artistic dimension.

Above all, the festival is a time for celebration. Inspired by the millennium of the coronation of Poland’s first kings, we wish to celebrate cinema as a vehicle for ideas, concepts, and emotions that help us to understand complex realities better, discover new perspectives, and come closer to one another. We aim to showcase the diversity of cinema and the phenomena connected with it. We believe that diversity is a strength, not a weakness, both for the festival, as well as the state. We look forward to seeing you at the Centre for Culture in Lublin. Let’s meet, talk, and celebrate together!

The winners of this year’s festival will be selected by a jury composed of: Anna Serdiukow, Nastia Naumenko, Balázs Szövényi-Lux. The Lublin audience will also choose their favourite film.