ZAMEK Culture Centre

International Documentary Film Festival OFF CINEMA is one of the most important events, on the map of cultural events in Poland, in the field of documentary cinema. The primary objective of the festival is to present the achievements related to documentary cinema, from around the world, along with the trends and changes that take place in the area of the art of filmmaking.

The 25th edition of the IDFF OFF CINEMA is going to be an undertaking of high artistic level, during which the latest Polish and international documentary films will be presented along with the review of the classics of the documentary cinema - a retrospective of the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award - THE PLATINUM CASTLE. Among the winners of the award, so far, are: Kazimierz Karabasz, Irena Kamieńska, Bogdan Dziworski, Marcel Łoziński, Andrzej Barański and Marian Marzyński. A presentation of the masters of Polish documentary cinema is an important element of the festival each year.

Two panels of JURY, the members of which are outstanding filmmakers, film critics and animators of culture, will grant awards such as Golden, Silver and Bronze Castles to the films submitted to the competition, in two separate categories: best full-length films and, separately, short documentaries. Most interesting events, selected from a wide range of events of Polish and world contemporary and classical cinematography, are promoted and presented during the festival. ZAMEK Culture Centre in Poznań has been the organiser of the International Documentary Film Festival OFF CINEMA (IDFF OFF CINEMA) since 1997. The festival is a cyclical undertaking with many years of uninterrupted tradition, therefore, of an unquestionable position in the film community. Up to now, the Culture Centre has organised 24 editions of the festival. The most important element of the festival is the film competition, which is a unique opportunity for the producers of documentaries  to present their work to a wide audience, also online since 2020. 

The following awards are granted in the competition:

2x Golden Castle in categories (full-length and short documentaries) PLN 8,000 each

2x Silver Castle in categories (full-length and short documentaries) PLN 5,000 each

2x Bronze Castle in categories (full-length and short documentaries) PLN 3,000 each

3x Special Jury Mentions

OFF CINEMA presents documentary films, the popularity of which, apart from festivals, is usually very limited due to its low commercial potential and lack of wide-scale cinema distribution. IDFFD OFF CINEMA is the only festival in Poznań that focuses exclusively on this area of cinematography. For more information about the history of the festival, please visit the archive.