From the FINA Archives | Film Series

About the event

The film series “From the FINA Archives” is an invitation to go behind the scenes of the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute and to learn about the daily work of the specialists employed there. Its aim is not only to present the richness and diversity of the collections, but also to popularize knowledge about the processes behind their cataloguing, preservation and access. At the center of the program are the people crucial to the Archive’s operation: archivists, conservators, digitization and collection storage specialists. They — referring to research, experience and specific film examples — will talk about their projects. Their perspective allows film to be seen not only as an artistic work, but also as a material, historical and technological object that requires knowledge and care. Each screening will be preceded by a short introduction revealing what work was involved in the film — whether it will be the reconstruction of cut scenes, restoration based on different copies, or analysis of script changes. The starting point is always specific resources: analog and digital materials, literary materials, production stills, catalogs, collections from recent acquisitions, reconstruction and restoration projects, and documentation accompanying the production and distribution of films. The series will be held once a month in the Ziemia Obiecana hall: from February to June 2026 and from September to December 2026. Together they form a coherent yet diverse story about FINA as a living organism — a place where the past of cinema meets the present of archival work and the future of research and making film heritage accessible. Screening schedule: - 18 February (Wednesday), 6 PM — “Sami swoi”, dir. Sylwester Chęciński (intro: Piotr Śmiałowski) - 30 March (Monday), 6 PM — “Znachor”, dir. Michał Waszyński (intro: Grzegorz Krynicki) - 15 April (Wednesday), 6 PM — “Lekarstwo na miłość”, dir. Jan Batory (intro: Agnieszka Polanowska)