Record-breaking attendance at the 11th International Film Festival Young Horizons! Next edition’s dates announced

11th International Film Festival Young Horizons has concluded. Featuring over 170 films screened in cinemas and 106 available online, accompanied by numerous workshops, meetings, and discussions, this year’s edition set a record for attendance. Nearly 68,000 cinema enthusiasts participated in the event!

The in-person festival took place in Warsaw, Wrocław, and 18 other cities across Poland, drawing 31 021 participants, including 18 576 in Warsaw alone. The MediaLab digital playground, located at Warsaw’s New Theatre, attracted over 2 000 visitors. The online segment gathered an audience of 36 951 viewers. In total, the 11th edition reached 67 972 attendees—the highest in the festival’s history.

“We’re thrilled with this result, which demonstrates the growing interest in cinema for young audiences. It’s not only a source of satisfaction but also an energizing boost for next year’s preparations,” said Kamila Tomkiel-Skowrońska, Festival Director.

This year’s program included 172 titles for various age groups, with 106 films available on the VOD platform during the online edition. Notably, the festival emphasized cinema for adolescent audiences with the Coming of Age section. The lineup also included films from the mBank New Horizons International Film Festival, reflecting shared themes of family dynamics and the transition to adulthood.

Save the date!

Although the excitement is still fresh, the dates for the next edition are already set. The 12th Young Horizons Film Festival will take place September 26–October 5, 2025. In the meantime, audiences can enjoy family-friendly films in regular cinema schedules, such as the warm animated feature The Treflix: Christmas Special (dir. Piotr Ficner, Poland, 2024) premiering later this year. Early 2025 will bring Basia. I Can Do This! (dir. Marcin Wasilewski, Łukasz Kacprowicz, Poland, 2024) and Into the Wonderwoods (dir. Vincent Paronnaud, Alexis Ducord; France, Luxembourg, 2024), the festival’s opening film and winner of the Audience Award.

Young Horizons for the Film Industry

For eight years, the festival has hosted Young Horizons Industry, an international co-production forum for films and series.

“Our goal has always been to support the growth of Polish cinema for young audiences. We assist in script development and are the only event offering financial awards for the best Polish productions,” said Maciej Jakubczyk, Head of Young Horizons. This year’s forum saw an unprecedented number of Polish film and series projects at various stages, from concept to post-production, with record-breaking attendance and inspiring industry engagement.