The Seattle PolishFilm 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.