Gdynia Industry: Industry Debates and Discussion Panels

GDYNIA CAMPUS – CLASS OF 2025
TUESDAY, 23rd September 2025, 10.00 a.m. | Omega Room, Mercure Gdynia Centre Hotel

For the second time, Gdynia Industry opens with a unique event, featuring a programme created by students from all Polish film schools and film departments – reflecting the motto of the Polish Film Festival: ‘Gdynia of Filmmakers’.Gdynia Campus – Class of 2025 will host workshops on pitching, conflict resolution on set, contract negotiation, and financing.

The highlight of the event is a networking lunch, organised in partnership with ATM Grupa, during which participants will meet representatives of film institutions, producers, creators, broadcasters, and distributors.

Thanks to the streaming service Netflix, the main partner of Gdynia Campus, fifty students received a scholarship to participate in the programme.

MAIN PARTNER: Netflix

PROGRAMME: Gdynia Film School, Łódź Film School, Wajda School, Warsaw Film School, Faculty of Radio and Television of the University of Silesia, Faculty of Audiovisual Production at the University of Gdańsk

EVENT PARTNERS: ATM Grupa, Gildia Reżyserów Polskich, Krajowa Izba Producentów Audiowizualnych, Gildia Scenarzystów Polskich, Centrum Psychologii Wykonania, Polska Gildia Producentów

FULL EVENT PROGRAMME WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON

SECOND ACT IN THE SPOTLIGHT
WEDNESDAY, 24th September, 10.30 a.m. | Omega Room, Mercure Gdynia Centre Hotel

In this conversation, we will discuss the topic of ‘extending’ a film’s life after its theatrical release – by showing it at events organised by festivals or by film discussion clubs outside major urban centres. Thanks to these initiatives and the commitment of filmmakers and cultural activists who work to build audiences, interest in Polish cinema as a whole is also growing.

FAIR FILM AWARD PRESENTATION
WEDNESDAY, 24th September 2025, 12.00 p.m. | Omega Room, Mercure Gdynia Centre Hotel

The Fair Film Award is a new initiative in the Polish audiovisual market – it will recognise film and television productions that promote equality, respect, and good practices. Film crews will decide who deserves the title of Most Fair through a nationwide, anonymous vote.

The criteria for the first edition of the 2025/26 award – prepared jointly by 29 organisations – provide a starting point for sociological research that will help identify the real needs of teams and producers, as well as barriers to implementing good practices. This will give the award a solid foundation in a diagnosis of the environment, prepared jointly by practitioners and researchers.

During the meeting, a representative of the Filmmakers’ Trade Union – in cooperation with scientists from the Department of Cultural Research at the Institute of Sociology of the Nicolaus Copernicus University – will present the research plan and the award criteria and invite you to a discussion on co-creating an initiative that has the potential to provide real support to the audiovisual community in Poland in the future.

The initiative is under the patronage of the Polish Film Institute and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

FAIR PLAY = FAIR FILM: fair play rules don’t end on the pitch – in film, they mean safe and fair practices that support people, the quality of work, and the success of production.

POLISH FILM INSTITUTE DEBATE: I CAN SEE NO OBSTACLES.
DEBATE ON HOW TO MAKE POLISH FILM MORE ACCESSIBLE
WEDNESDAY, 24th September 2025, 3.00 p.m. | Omega Room, Mercure Gdynia Centre Hotel

A discussion about the measures taken by institutions in Poland and Europe to increase the accessibility of films for people with special needs. Participants in the debate will include representatives of: Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, British Film Institute, European Film Academy, Polish Film Institute, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute, Culture without Barriers Foundation, Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival.

EVENT PARTNERS: Polish Film Institute, European Film Academy

POLISH FILMMAKERS’ WORKING CONDITIONS 2023–2024: STUDY
RESULTS PRESENTATION
WEDNESDAY, 24th September 2025, 5.15 p.m.| Omega Room, Mercure Gdynia Centre Hotel

The Working Conditions Study was conducted by the Filmmakers’ Trade Union (ZZF), in cooperation with Goodylabs, and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. According to representatives of the ZZF: ‘The need to conduct this research arose in 2020, at the beginning of the ZZF’s existence. We decided to describe the current working conditions, i.e., “how it is”, and what we as a union want to change, i.e., “how we want it to be”. However, it turned out that work on set is perceived differently by different people, and the need to conduct research – the first in several decades – proved indispensable. The research allows us to identify the need for change objectively and set the direction for it.’

ROUND-TABLE MEETING OF THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND
NATIONAL HERITAGE WITH POLISH FILM INDUSTRY
THURSDAY, 25th September 2025, 10.00 a.m. | Omega Room, Mercure Gdynia Centre Hotel

The round-table event is organised by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in collaboration with the Polish Film Institute, the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute, the Documentary and Feature Film Studios, and the Feature Film Studio in Wrocław. It will be divided into three parts: (1) A presentation of current and planned activities of the Ministry and the aforementioned institutions in areas such as production financing, archives, cinemas, technological change, and accessibility. (2) A presentation of the results of market research, financed by the PFI and conducted by Olsberg SPI and the Jagiellonian University, a joint initiative of the Producers Guild of Poland, the Polish Filmmakers Association (main partner), the Polish Producers Alliance, Netflix, and TVN Warner Bros Discovery Poland. It will be followed by a presentation of the Jagiellonian University research project titled The Film Market in Times of Digital, Green, and Social Transformation: Models of Change, financed by the Foundation for Polish Science. (3) A discussion panel on strategies for the development of independent production in Poland, with the participation of representatives of film production organisations.

GIUSEPPE IN WARSAW, BUT FILMS IN WROCŁAW
FRIDAY, 26th September 2025, 10.30 a.m. | Omega Room, Mercure Gdynia Centre Hotel

Wroclaw Feature Film Studio (WFFS) – a state cultural institution with over 70 years of tradition – invites you to a presentation on the possibilities of film production in collaboration with the WFFS. The institution boasts film studios and infrastructure that have been appreciated over the years by renowned filmmakers, such as Andrzej Wajda (Ashes and Diamonds), Wojciech Jerzy Has (The Doll), and Michał Kwieciński (Chopin, Chopin!). WFFS also provides in-kind support and conducts recruitment for co-productions of arthouse projects, aimed at producers and creators, including debutants.

ADDITIONAL FILM FINANCING – WHERE AND HOW TO FIND IT?
FRIDAY, 26th September 2025, 10.45 a.m. | Omega Room, Mercure Gdynia Centre Hotel

During this meeting, representatives of the Polish Producers Alliance, the Producers Guild of Poland, the Polish Film Institute, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the streaming service Netflix will discuss potential sources of additional funding for film production in the coming months and years. Instead of mapping the current situation, which is already well known to producers and the market, we will focus on future opportunities and solutions designed to strengthen audiovisual production.

The event is co-organised by Creative Europe Media Desk Polska.

EVENT PARTNERS: Polish Producers Alliance, Producers Guild of Poland

20/20 DOK – PRESS BRIEFING
FRIDAY, 26th September 2025, 3.00 p.m. | Omega Room, Mercure Gdynia Centre Hotel

During this meeting a unique anniversary project by the Polish Film Institute, prepared in collaboration with Millennium Docs Against Gravity, featuring twenty of the best documentary films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute over the past two decades will be presented.

PRESENTATION OF THE POLISH FILM INSTITUTE’S OPERATIONAL
PROGRAMMES FOR 2026
FRIDAY, 26th September 2025, 3.15 p.m. | Omega Room, Mercure Gdynia Centre Hotel

During the meeting, the Polish Film Institute’s Operational Programmes for 2026 will be presented.

POLISH FILMMAKERS ASSOCIATION FORUM
SATURDAY, 27th September 2025, 12.00 p.m. | Tango and Orion Rooms, Mercure Gdynia Centre Hotel

The Gdynia Forum of the Polish Filmmakers Association – the largest organisation for film professionals – has for years been a venue for heated discussions on the most pressing issues facing the film community. In the face of market changes, the greatest challenge our film industry faces is reforming film production financing. The goal is to protect small and medium-sized producers, as only they can guarantee
the production of ambitious Polish cinema. Other key topics we’ll discuss during the Forum include restructuring public media, amending the list of blank tapes, and adopting a law on social security for people working in the arts. We invite you to join the discussion.