About the festival

The AFF presents contemporary independent productions in two major competitive sections:

• SPECTRUM, a panorama of contemporary American cinema, focusing on filmmakers in mid-careers and those making significant directorial debuts, and
• AMERICAN DOCS, a program of compelling and award-winning documentaries from the film festival circuit, with Audience Awards with cash prizes of $10,000 and $5,000 for Best Narrative Feature and Best Documentary Feature, respectively.

The AFF 2022 Audience Awards winners were Alex Lehmann with Acidman and Amy Bandlien Storkel & Bryan Storkel with The Pez Outlaw.

The AFF honors recognized US filmmakers with INDIE STAR AWARD to a master of independent filmmaking. In the past years ISA was presented to Todd Solondz, Jerry Schatzberg, Christine Vachon, Whit Stillman, David Gordon Green, Hal Hartley, Jonas Mekas, Rosanna Arquette, John Carroll Lynch, Mark Webber, John Waters, and in 2022 to Nina Menkes. The AFF also boasts of RETROSPECTIVES of American classics. Tributes to the likes of John Cassavetes, Shirley Clarke, Clint Eastwood, Samuel Fuller, Nicholas Ray, Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, Gregory Peck, Ida Lupino, Jim Jarmusch and Robert Altman have been organized during past editions of the AFF.

The last stationary edition of American FF took place in 2022 in Wroclaw and included 178 screenings of over 80 features.

Running yearly in the framework of the AFF, US IN PROGRESS is a unique film industry event connecting European buyers and American independent filmmakers. US in Progress aims to strengthen the trans-Atlantic film industry collaborations and partnerships. US in Progress presents 4-8 independent American projects in final production stages to top European buyers (sales agents, distributors and festival programmers) and post-production houses, who offer their services as in-kind awards. In 2021 US in Progress invited also Canadian projects. Check dates and regulations at usinprogress.com.

Cool theaters: "screens of IMAX proportions." Cool audiences: "fashionable young crowds and the hottest new bands." Cool digs: "five-star accommodations, fancy dinners and tours of the local castles." No wonder Wroclaw is a hot ticket for U.S. moviemakers, "dignitaries" to the "best festival in Poland and perhaps all of Eastern Europe." Celebrating a different kind of American cinema than what traditionally permeates those far-flung shores, AFF doesn't just showcase indies, it nurtures them: Panelists love their U.S. in Progress program, which awards cash prizes to features in post. – this is how in September 2015, the MovieMaker Magazine described the AFF, when the event was selected as one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World by the Magazine.

In May 2021, AFF was included in the MovieMaker's Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee annual list for the 10th straight year.

Here comes the verdict:

One of the three Polish film festivals on our list, the American Film Festival in Wrocław distinguishes itself by specializing in American cinema. Between its two major competitive sections, AFF secured the 2020 Polish premieres of First Cow, David Byrne’s American Utopia, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, and Uncle Frank. The focus is on high-profile directors and those making “significant directorial debuts,” says programmer Mateusz Gutek. But for those in that weight class, the experience is electric, and includes subsidized airfare, lodging, and transportation — with no entry fee. Past panelists include Todd Solondz, Christine Vachon and Jonas Mekas, and events include U.S. in Progress, a two-day workshop connecting American film teams with European sales agents, distributors, and investors.

You can find some information about the city here.

14th American Film Festival will take place on November 7th-12th, 2023 in Wroclaw.