The work of Andrzej Wajda will serve as a starting point for a meeting with audiences at the 34th ToruńCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival. On 10 November, the ten best essays selected in the WAJDA RE/FRAME competition will be screened, followed by a special meeting with the award winners and members of the competition jury. It will be an opportunity to see how young filmmakers reinterpret Wajda’s cinema and engage in a dialogue with his work.
The WAJDA RE/FRAME competition, organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in cooperation with the Łódź Film School and the Documentary and Feature Film Studio (WFDiF) in Warsaw, with financial support from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, was open to students of film and art schools from around the world. The competition demonstrated the high level of creative skills among young filmmakers engaging in a dialogue with the work of Andrzej Wajda.
Participants were invited to reinterpret films such as Ashes and Diamonds, The Wedding, The Promised Land, Man of Marble and Danton, deconstructing them and introducing new elements, commentary, subtitles or additional sound layers. Created in the form of found footage film essays, the works demonstrated considerable interpretative maturity, technical proficiency and a thoughtful use of audiovisual language.
The international character of the competition proved particularly compelling. Participants from diverse cultural backgrounds found themes in Wajda’s films that remain relevant today, including the relationship between the individual and those in power, collective memory, identity and political tensions. The most compelling essays went beyond analysing the source material, engaging in a creative dialogue with it and proposing new interpretative contexts and original readings of Polish cinema classics.
The overall standard of the competition was exceptionally high, with little separating the entries. The jury assessed works representing a broad spectrum of artistic approaches, from historical and political essays to metaphorical and experimental pieces. The intensive and wide-ranging deliberations reflected the quality of the submissions. The competition confirmed that Andrzej Wajda’s work remains a vital point of reference for successive generations of filmmakers and continues to inspire new, contemporary interpretations.
On 15 September, the jury, comprising Agnieszka Holland, film director and screenwriter; Milenia Fiedler, Rector of the Łódź Film School and film editor; Kuba Mikurda, film director and screenwriter; and Olga Brzezińska, Deputy Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and cultural manager, selected the competition winners:
- First Prize – Grand Prize Winner: Sebastián Hurtado – Mexico, Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC), Bachelor’s Degree in Cinematography.
- Second Prize – Honourable Mention: Cătălin Munteanu – Romania, UNATC, Documentary Film.
The winners will meet audiences at the 34th ToruńCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival during a screening of the ten best essays selected for the WAJDA RE/FRAME competition.
Sebastián Hurtado is a film director and visual artist studying cinematography at the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC). He also studied screenwriting at Vancouver Film School. His work stems from a visual, formal and ontological reflection on the body and cinematic space, exploring the historical, political and social relationships embedded in filmed locations. His artistic practice is characterised by the spectral quality of images and fragmented narratives. He also works in film criticism and theory.
Cătălin Munteanu is an interdisciplinary artist based in Bucharest, studying documentary filmmaking at UNATC. Drawing on psychology, performance, dance, painting and experimental music, his artistic practice focuses on intimacy, corporeality and the poetic dimensions of reality, explored through the moving image. He also works as a film director and documentary filmmaker, making films that document creative processes in theatre and dance. His work examines the relationships between the body, image and memory, as well as the potential of film as an immersive and therapeutic experience.
The creators of the other selected works to be presented in Toruń are Anna Livieratou (Greece), Paula Toro (Brazil), Du Lee (China), Qiang Wang (China), Tsotne Kavelashvili (Georgia), Eryk Makol (Greece), Anna Beitia (Panama) and Mariana Nobre Portela (Brazil).
Organiser: Adam Mickiewicz Institute (IAM)
Partners: Łódź Film School, Documentary and Feature Film Studio (WFDiF) in Warsaw, ToruńCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival
The project is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
The WAJDA RE/FRAME competition is organised as part of the celebrations marking the Year of Andrzej Wajda 2026, established by the Polish Senate to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth and the 10th anniversary of the death of this outstanding director and a major figure in Polish and world cinema.
The Adam Mickiewicz Institute (IAM) connects Polish culture with people around the world. As a state institution, it fosters lasting international interest in Polish culture and art, strengthening the presence of Polish artists on the global stage. It initiates innovative projects, supports international cooperation and cultural exchange, and promotes the work of both established and emerging artists, showcasing the diversity and richness of Polish culture. The Adam Mickiewicz Institute also runs Culture.pl, a comprehensive online resource dedicated to Polish culture.
For more information, visit www.iam.pl.