Polish Film Festival Sydney 2026

Polish cinema returns to Sydney as the Polish Film Festival launches its 12th edition, bringing a selection of acclaimed contemporary films, exciting Australian premieres and a landmark European classic to audiences in Sydney.

Running from 14 November to 6 December 2026, the Festival will showcase the breadth of contemporary Polish filmmaking — from the highly anticipated epic romance "The Doll" and a gripping political thriller featuring a standout performance by acclaimed British actress Lesley Manville, to award-winning coming-of-age stories, comedy dramas, and a documentary exploring the remarkable life of Art Deco icon Tamara de Lempicka.

Opening the Festival is THE DOLL, a spectacular new adaptation of a beloved literary masterpiece — a sweeping story of love, ambition, money and social class. Set in Warsaw at the end of the 19th century, this lavish period romance brings the city vividly to life, following wealthy merchant Wokulski as he enters the world of the aristocracy in pursuit of the woman he loves.

Inspired by Nobel Prize-winning author Olga Tokarczuk, a gripping political thriller starring Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville (The Crown). Set on the eve of martial law in Poland, Kasia Adamik’s WINTER OF THE CROW premiered at Toronto IFF and was selected as the closing film of the San Sebastián IFF.

From the producers of Oscar-nominated "Corpus Christi", Piotr Domalewski’s bold coming-of-age story of four teenage altar boys who, frustrated by adults’ indifference to social injustice, decide to take matters into their own hands. Funny, rebellious and unexpectedly moving, THE ALTAR BOYS explores friendship, faith and the difficult transition into adulthood.

As part of Poland’s 2026 Year of Andrzej Wajda, marking the centenary of the birth of the celebrated filmmaker and Honorary Academy Award recipient, the Festival will screen his 1958 masterpiece ASHES AND DIAMONDS, starring the legendary Zbigniew Cybulski. Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at Venice in 1959, the film remains one of the defining works of Polish cinema and has long been admired by filmmakers around the world, including Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.

The Wajda centenary celebrations will also extend to a special presentation of WAŁĘSA. MAN OF HOPE. This special event at NSW Parliament House, co-organised with Embassy of the Republic of Poland, is free to attend, with registration required.

LACHTARA. LONGING, starring Filip Pławiak, acclaimed Bosnian actor Branko Đurić (No Man’s Land) and Iranian Berlinale-winning actress Sarina Farhadi (A Separation), is a poignant road movie, following a Greek father and his Polish-Greek son as they reunite after decades apart.

The program also includes Emi Buchwald’s acclaimed debut NO GHOSTS ON GOOD STREET, a warm-hearted romantic comedy THE LOVE BUZZ, and THE TRUE STORY OF TAMARA DE LEMPICKA, a documentary exploring the extraordinary life of the Polish-born Art Deco legend.

The Festival concludes with PICASSO’S MERMAID, a charming comedy-drama inspired by the true story of Pablo Picasso’s 1948 visit to Warsaw and the mermaid he famously drew on the wall of a Warsaw apartment.

All screenings are in Polish with English subtitles or in English.