22/01/2026

Joanna Łapińska Appointed Artistic Director of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia

On 19 January 2026, Marta Cienkowska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, appointed Joanna Łapińska as Artistic Director of the Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych for a five-year term.

fot. Mateusz Ochocki / KFP

Joanna Łapińska was selected by a nine-member competition committee composed of six members chosen by the Festival’s Programme Council and three appointed by the Festival’s Organising Committee.

The Competition Committee consisted of:

1. Borys Lankosz – Chair
2. Olga Bieniek
3. Olga Chajdas
4. Kuba Kosma
5. Robert Piaskowski
6. Allan Starski
7. Maja Wagner
8. Marcin Wierzchosławski
9. Janusz Zaorski

Joanna Łapińska, a member of the European Film Academy and recipient of the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture “Gloria Artis”, previously served as Artistic Director of the Gdynia festival from 2023 to 2025. She is a psychology graduate of Uniwersytet Warszawski and an experienced cultural manager.

From 2002 to 2016 she was associated with the Nowe Horyzonty festival, serving as its artistic director from 2007. She is the originator of Studio Nowe Horyzonty and Polish Days. Between 2016 and 2020 she was programme director of the Transatlantyk Festival. She also created the industry event Lodołamacz. Before taking the position in Gdynia, she headed Gdynia Industry. She is an expert for the Polish Film Institute as well as for the Łódź Film Commission, the Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission and the Warsaw Film Fund.

This will be Łapińska’s second term as Artistic Director of the Gdynia festival. The other candidate in the competition was historian and academic lecturer Dr Piotr Kurpiewski.