FESTIVAL HISTORY The Seattle
Polish Film Festival is an annual event showcasing the best of Polish
cinema. The Seattle Polish Film Festival (SPFF) is produced and
presented by the Seattle-Gdynia
Sister City Association
SPFF was started in 1992 by prominent
Polish community leaders and cinema buffs Tom Podl and Dr. Michal
Friedrich. Mr. Podl and Dr. Friedrich were inspired by the Chicago
Polish Film Festival, and wanted to share this special part of Polish
culture with the greater Seattle community. Since 2002, local
attorney Krys Koper has directed the Seattle Festival.
The Seattle Polish Film Festival has
presented such recent films as “Revenge” and “When the Sun was God,”
as well as classics, such as “The Promised Land” and “Woman Alone.”
SPFF has hosted distinguished directors
such as Jerzy Hoffman, Agnieszka Holland, Juliusz Machulski, Radoslaw
Piwowarski, and Krzysztof Zanussi. In 2000, SPFF presented a
retrospective on the works of Andrzej Wajda in honor of his receipt of
an Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement in film.
SPFF links with Poland’s Film Festival.
Beginning in 2005, judges for the Gdynia Film Festival – the premier
showcase event for Polish language films in the world – will give an
award for cinematic excellence to the best independent film on behalf
of the Seattle Polish Film Festival. The winning film will be
featured at our Festival and the filmmaker will receive a special
statuette and an invitation to attend the film's showing in Seattle.
In addition, the director of the Seattle
Polish Film Festival will join directors of other Polish film
festivals from around the world to select the winner of the Foreign
Polish Film Festival Award. The award winning film is selected for
what the directors believe is the best film at the Gdynia Film
Festival.
The Award in 2004 was given to the film
The Welts, a film featured in this year’s Seattle Polish Film
Festival.
SEATTLE-GDYNIA SISTER CITY ASSOCIATION
The Seattle Polish Film Festival is produced by the Seattle-Gdynia
Sister City Association (SGSCA), a membership-based, not-for-profit
organization. The Festival is staffed entirely by volunteers of the
SGSCA.
The SGSCA was established in 1993. The
mission of our Association is to promote educational, cultural, trade
and charitable exchanges between the Polish seaport city of Gdynia and
the greater Seattle area. In addition, SGSCA provides financial and
material support for social service programs located in Gdynia.
The Seattle Polish Film Festival is one
important way the SGSCA accomplishes its mission. The Festival allows
us to share Polish history, culture, and cinematic art with the
Seattle community. Proceeds from SPFF support Seattle-Gdynia Sister
City Association educational exchanges and human service programs in
Poland.
For more information about SGSCA, Gdynia,
or the Seattle Polish Film Festival, please visit
www.seattlegdynia.org on the world wide web.
Please look at some of the past
festivals websites. Select from the list:
