FOR APPLICANTS

The Warsaw Film School is a place where your real creative journey begins. You don’t wait for an opportunity – you create it yourself!

 

Here, we nurture imagination, sensitivity, and technical skill – and we bring ideas to the big screen, producing films and all kinds of audiovisual forms in professional conditions from the very first days of learning.

 

If you want to make cinema – you’re in the right place.

 

 

WHY CHOOSE OUR SCHOOL?

 

The Warsaw Film School offers:

• Hands-on practice from the very first classes.

• Training in conditions that resemble a real film set.

• Collaboration between students of all departments and nationalities: Modern Filmmaking: Directing, Cinematography & AI, Directing, Cinematography, Screenwriting, Acting for New Media, Sound Design, Photography…

• Lecturers who are active professionals and respected experts in the industry.

• A community full of passion, ambition, and creative energy - inspiring one another to reach for the stars!

 

OUR ALUMNI

 

Our graduates are the best proof of what our School offers - they fulfil their dreams in the industry, including making their cinema debuts.

 

Our School is proud to have two Academy Award nominations!

 

One of them was for the film “The Dress” (2022), directed by Tadeusz Łysiak - director and screenwriter, a graduate of Directing at the Warsaw Film School and Cultural Studies at the University of Warsaw. Still as a student, he created his diploma film “The Dress”, which gained worldwide recognition and was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Live Action Short Film.

 

His earlier short films, such as “Techno” and “The Mirror”, also achieved international festival success. Today, Tadeusz shares his experience as a lecturer at the Warsaw Film School, supporting young filmmakers in developing their careers.

 

 

Tomasz Śliwiński is a documentary filmmaker and a graduate of the Warsaw Film School. His best-known film, “Our Curse” is a short documentary portraying the first months of the life of his son, Leo, who suffers from a rare condition - Ondine’s syndrome.

 

This personal film received widespread acclaim - it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 2015. Thanks to the success of “Our Curse”, Tomasz was awarded a scholarship in the prestigious Young Poland program, which enabled him to develop further film projects. His works, including feature-length films, continue to be an important voice in Polish independent documentary cinema.

 

English subtitles available!

 

Monika Majorek is a talented director and screenwriter who graduated in Directing from the Warsaw Film School. Her short films made during her studies - such as “Inka”, “Firstly...” and “Off-season” - were showcased at international festivals and received awards for directing, screenplay, cinematography, and music. Monika also honed her craft abroad, participating in courses at StoryLab.pro, Sundance Collab, and Raindance Film Academy.

 

Her feature debut, “There Will Be No Other End” (prod. Agart Studio, Dawid Szurmiej, 2024), won the Audience Award at the Warsaw Film Festival, as well as two awards at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, including recognition for its bold perspective. Currently, Monika is also active as a lecturer and script consultant, sharing her expertise with aspiring filmmakers and writers.

 

English subtitles available!

 

Mara Tamkovich is a Polish-Belarusian director, screenwriter, and journalist - a graduate of the Warsaw Film School and the Wajda School. For nearly a decade, she worked in independent Belarusian media broadcasting from Poland, which shaped her strong social voice in her work. Her short films created at the Warsaw Film School — including “Equation” and “Daughter” - were screened at festivals in Poland and abroad, receiving awards and nominations in cities such as Chicago, Gdynia, and Minsk.

 

“Under the Grey Sky” (prod. Media Corporation, 2024), her first feature film, premiered at prestigious events including the Tribeca Film Festival in New York and won the Best Directorial Debut Award at the 49th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia. Mara is a member of the Polish Directors Guild and the Belarusian Independent Film Academy.

 

English subtitles available!

 

Natasza Parzymies also boasts numerous achievements - she is the creator of the online series “Control” whose success opened doors for collaboration with producers and platforms worldwide. She is also the director of acclaimed festival short films, such as “My Old Gals” (2023). One of the most talked-about debuts in recent years, she is among our strongest ambassadors. Natasza is currently working on her first feature film, “Let’s Say It’s Piontek” (prod. EGo FILM).

 

English subtitles available!

 

 

We are the only film school that produces its own feature films - and brings students and graduates directly into the filmmaking process!

 

“Ludzie / People” (dir. Maciej Ślesicki, Filip Hillesland, 2024) is a moving war drama set in contemporary Ukraine. It follows the stories of five women — a doctor, a teenage girl, a blind child, an elderly woman, and a mother - who face loss, fear, and sacrifice every single day under the shadow of war. The film features, among others, Cezary Pazura and Oksana Cherkashyna.

 

“kRAJ” (dir. Maciej Ślesicki, Veronica Andersson, Filip Hillesland, Mateusz Motyka, 2021) is a dark comedy composed of six interconnected short stories, forming a surprising mosaic of contemporary Poland. It captures everyday anxieties and absurd situations - from a traffic officer cursing reckless drivers to neighbours waging a “war” using… fireworks. The whole film blends sharp humour, irony, and keen social observation.

 

OUR GUESTS

 

Meeting film industry professionals is an everyday occurrence at the Warsaw Film School. We don’t organize events just for show - we want our students to hear stories straight from the set, from people who work on the world’s biggest productions.

 

Among the School’s distinguished guests are, for example:

 

Jon Moore - American prosthetic makeup artist who has worked with film legends such as Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Robert Pattinson, and Chris Pratt on some of the world’s most renowned productions, including “Batman” and “Thor”.

Team VOLUCAP - members of a German media company specializing in volumetric capture, who worked on hits such as “The Matrix”, “John Wick”, and “Mickey 17”. They set up a 3D camera on our school patio and used it to record conversations with Zdzisława Włodarczyk and Niusia Horowitz-Karakulska - Auschwitz survivors.

 

HOW WE TEACH

 

Our model is simple and reliable: we teach through practice.

 

Students at the Warsaw Film School:

• Step onto a film set from the very first days of their studies.
• Create their own short films, documentaries, games, and other audiovisual forms with the School’s academic and technical support.
• Work in teams, just as they would in the industry.
• Use modern film and photography studios, editing rooms, and professional equipment.
• Develop and refine their projects with mentors who have already succeeded in the film and gaming industries, gaining knowledge and inspiration from them.

 

 

CAMPUS LIFE

 

The Warsaw Film School is not a typical university - it is a living, breathing community full of people with passion and dreams.

 

Every day, we create: short films, documentaries, scripts, music videos, interviews, test shoots, castings, photo sessions, games…

 

Campus life at our School also includes:

• Screenings of student films (“The New is Ahead” - a series of short film screenings), as well as feature hits and classics of cinema at the Elektronik Cinema.

• The Script Fiesta Film Festival, dedicated to the art of screenwriting and created by the Chancellor of the Warsaw Film School, dr Maciej Ślesicki, is now entering its 14th edition!

• Student participation in international festivals (supported by the Polish Film Institute and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute).

• Recurring Game Jams.

• Masterclasses and workshops.

• Concerts, performances, and shows - all created and performed by our students!

• A united community of students, alumni, lecturers, and staff, supporting each other at every step.