INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

Agnieszka Będkowska will become the new Director of the Documentary and Feature Film Studios (WFDiF), the place where masterpieces of Polish cinema were created. With the support of the Kujawy Pomorze Film Fund, Krzysztof Zanussi will shoot his latest film at WFDiF.

Agnieszka Będkowska will take up the position of Director of WFDiF on 1 January 2026. Her term of office will last five years. The new head has been associated with the studio for a quarter of a century. While serving as Deputy Director of WFDiF, in addition to supervising film production, she was also responsible for promoting film culture through the implementation of special projects of national and international scope, the Ministry of Culture reports.

Będkowska is a graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration as well as the Faculty of Film and Television Production Organization at the University of Silesia.

WFDiF – a legendary institution

The Documentary and Feature Film Studios in Warsaw has been operating since 1949. It was there that hundreds of episodes of the famous Polish Film Chronicle, screened for many years before cinema showings, were produced, as well as important documentary films. Over time, WFDiF became the most important film studio in Poland. Renowned filmmakers such as Andrzej Wajda, Jerzy Antczak, Krzysztof Zanussi, Krzysztof Kieślowski and Jerzy Hoffman created their works there.

Recently, WFDiF produced, among others, Raport Pileckiego (Pilecki’s Report) by Krzysztof Łukaszewicz and Vinci 2 by Juliusz Machulski, as well as earlier high-profile titles such as Róża by Wojciech Smarzowski, Czarny Mercedes (The Black Mercedes) by Janusz Majewski, Różyczka (Little Rose) by Jan Kidawa-Błoński and Karbala by Krzysztof Łukaszewicz.

It was also at WFDiF that Janusz Majewski’s feature film Excentrycy, czyli po słonecznej stronie ulicy (The Eccentrics, or the Sunny Side of the Street) was made in 2015, with financial participation from the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Regional Self-Government. The film is set in Ciechocinek, with scenes also shot in Nieszawa and Toruń. It won numerous awards, including the Silver Lions at the 40th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia and four Polish Film Academy Awards. The 2016 Polish Film Awards (Orły) for Best Supporting Actor and Actress for roles in The Eccentrics went to Wojciech Pszoniak and Anna Dymna. The cast also included Maciej Stuhr, Natalia Rybicka, Sonia Bohosiewicz, Wiktor Zborowski and Adam Ferency.

We will make Zanussi’s new film together

At the Documentary and Feature Film Studios, thanks to the support of the Kujawy Pomorze Film Fund, master filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi will shoot his latest work, Całopalenie (Holocaust Offering / Burnt Offering). Production was originally planned to begin in July this year, with filming also scheduled in our region. The project received funding from the Polish Film Institute, but its production has been postponed until 2026.

What will the latest work of one of Poland’s greatest directors be about? “You never fully know what a film will really be about – only when it is finished can you see what ultimately prevailed. I can say that Całopalenie is about the need for the absolute, about the fact that the material world is not enough to satisfy our spiritual needs. Perhaps I will manage to express that,” Zanussi said in one interview.

The aim of the Kujawy Pomorze Film Fund, established on the initiative of the regional self-government, is to support filmmakers as well as to promote the unique qualities of our region and stimulate the local creative industry. Recent high-profile productions made with the Fund’s participation include Michał Kwieciński’s latest film Chopin, Chopin! and Wojciech Smarzowski’s drama Dom dobry (A Good Home). Currently showing in cinemas is the romantic comedy Piernikowe serce (Gingerbread Heart) by Piotr Wereśniak, featuring a star-studded cast, which was filmed in Toruń’s Old Town.

Department of Promotion
12 December 2025