Gloria Artis for the PFF and its Artistic Director, Joanna Łapińska

During the Opening Gala on 22nd September, 2025, the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis was awarded to the Pomeranian Film Foundation in Gdynia for organizing the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia. The Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis was awarded to Joanna Łapińska, the Festival’s Artistic Director.

The Polish Film Festival has been awarded this prestigious distinction in recognition of its fifty-year-long contribution to the development and promotion of Polish art cinema, both in Poland and internationally. It was also recognised for creating a space where audiences, filmmakers, critics, and film industry organisers can exchange ideas and concepts that stimulate the growth of Polish cinematography, while sharing the emotions that accompany screenings and special events.

Joanna Łapińska, in turn, was honoured for her many years of organisational, jury, and expert work for several of Poland’s most prominent film festivals and institutions, including the New Horizons International Film Festival, the Transatlantyk Festival, the Polish Film Institute, and the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.

Laudation: “Joanna Łapińska is an extraordinary personality. She combines passion and knowledge of cinema with organisational skills, as well as the ability to bring together people from the artistic, political, and business spheres for the common good of Polish cinema. She is recognised for her determination in creating new spaces and pathways for film culture, her courage to speak equally about the crises and successes of Polish cinematography, her passion for exploring what is intriguing and unconventional, and her appreciation of the mainstream. Every festival that has emerged under her guidance has been infused with a wealth of creative energy – from New Horizons, through Transatlantyk, to Gdynia – bringing countless film enthusiasts along the way. We wish that her passion for cinema and her patience may never wane, and that they continue to shape a broad and promising future for Polish culture.”