Leszek Kopeć passes away
The long-time Director of the Polish Film Festival Leszek Kopeć died on 23rd April 2025. A legendary figure, a one-man-institution, a man of cinema has passed away. He combined wisdom, humility, charisma and curiosity about another human being. We will always remember him as the creator of culture and an unquestioned authority, but also – what he wonderfully talked about – a racing driver, a producer of umbrellas and an author of novels.
It is hard to believe in the death of a man who has always been there. Last year, Leszek Kopeć celebrated the 25th anniversary of his work with the Polish Film Festival: I was a bit lucky – he said. – The time I started was particularly challenging for Polish cinema. After a couple of years, the situation began to change for the better. In another interview he added: This job is so fascinating that you can’t stop doing it. I’ve had some fairly lucrative offers, but I turned them down also because I had no heart to leave something that was developing so beautifully.
Dear Leszek, we cannot imagine the world without you.
Leszek Kopeć (3rd July 1951–23rd April 2025) – film producer, entrepreneur, publisher. He was the Director of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, the Gdynia Film School and the President of the Board of the Pomeranian Film Foundation in Gdynia. He graduated in Polish philology from the University of Gdansk (1976) and in Managers Study from the Gdansk Foundation for Management Development (2001).
In the years 1973–1979 he was the editor and co-founder of the student literary magazine ‘Litteraria’. He wrote the novel Kredowe koło (1989), and also stories and reviews published in Polish periodicals. Between 1993 and 1994 he was the editor-in-chief of ‘Focus’ publishing house, from 1995 to 2002 he worked with ‘Megaron’ – a magazine about book publications. In the years 1999–2005 he was the Director of Neptune Film and between 2000–2002 the producer and then the Director of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia. Between the years 2005–2010 he was the director of the Centre for Culture in Gdynia. In the years 2015–2022 he held the position of the director of the Gdynia Film Centre. From 2010 to 2022 he was the publisher of the ‘Bliza’ Artistic Quarterly. Since 2010, he has been the director of the Gdynia Film School.
Leszek Kopeć was the producer of dozens of graduation films by Gdynia Film School students, awarded at over 100 and nominated at nearly 200 festivals in Poland and abroad, including two nominations for the Palme d’Or in the Short Film Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. He received the 2015 Eagle Award and the title of the Gdynia 2016 Personality of the Year granted by ‘Dziennik Bałtycki’ daily newspaper. He was decorated with the Bronze (2005), Silver (2009) and Gold (2015) Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis. He was the winner of the Artistic Award of the Mayor of Gdynia (2009). In 2017, he received the Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski Medal. In 2022, he was presented with the Polish Filmmakers Association Award for his lifetime achievement and outstanding artistic performance. In 2025, Leszek Kopeć was recognised in the top ten of the “Pomeranian of the Year” award.
