The 41st edition of the Warsaw Film Festival starts in just three weeks. This year, the festival will be accompanied by an industry section in a new format. At the heart of Warsaw Industry Days are the Co-Production Forum – presentations of projects from Central and Eastern Europe – and Industry Talks, a series of panels and lectures offering professionals a chance to meet and exchange perspectives on the most pressing challenges and trends in contemporary cinema.

The program covers a wide range of topics – from script development, through strategies of promotion and audience engagement, to models of international collaboration and technological challenges the industry is facing today.

Discussions with international guests will include an analysis of the visibility of Polish cinema at major film festivals, examining how it compares with neighboring countries and what factors influence its recognition abroad. Other sessions will focus on mental resilience and well-being in creative professions – increasingly seen as key to sustainable artistic careers. A dedicated block will address the promotion of films and series on social media, with an emphasis on the practical experiences of distributors and content creators. Transmedia topics will also be explored: the dialogue between film and video games, the movement of talent between industries, and the creative skills that are becoming most transferable today. The program will also take a closer look at Ukrainian cinema and its connections with European film industries. Meanwhile, two prominent script consultants will address the challenges that the script development process presents to individual creativity.

Producers and service providers will be especially interested in a Q&A session with a Netflix representative, focused on the platform’s production standards in Central and Eastern Europe. Practical aspects will also be addressed in a panel prepared in cooperation with the Polish Association of Post-production, dedicated to the role of artificial intelligence in filmmaking.