42nd WMFF: Audience Picks "Josephine", Tede and "Meanwhile in Namibia" Tie in Documentaries

The organisers of the 42nd Warsaw International Film Festival (WMFF) have announced the results of the audience vote. The event ran from 9 to 18 October 2026. Viewers could choose from 190 titles shown across 330 screenings.

Best feature film: "Josephine"

The Audience Award for best feature film went to "Josephine", directed by Beth de Araújo. The film was shown in the Confrontations section. Viewers rated it the highest there, which also earned it the Polish Film Institute award: PLN 40,000 for the Polish distributor, intended to support cinema distribution.

In second place in the feature film ranking was "Swornegacie" by Michał Grzybowski (international title "How to Survive the Summer Holidays"). Third place went to "Rzut o wolność" by Dzintars Dreibergs ("Escape Net"). Both films were shown in the Animus. Cinema of Values section.

Documentaries: two winners

In the documentary category, the audience award was shared between two titles:

• "Tymczasem w Namibii" ("Meanwhile in Namibia"), directed by Jonas Spriestersbach. The film had previously also won the jury's main prize in the Documentary Competition.
• "Tede. Forever RAP", directed by Krystian Kuczkowski, shown in the Special Screenings.

The next places in the documentary ranking went to "Martha" and "Kaszpirowski".

Short films and Free Spirit

The award for best short film went to "Meteoryt" ("Meteorite"), directed by Elisabeth Werchosin. The film finished the festival with three honours: in addition to the audience award, it received the Short Grand Prix and the award for best live-action short film.

In the Free Spirit section, viewers singled out the film "Ula" ("Ulya"). It was also among the twenty highest-rated feature films of the whole festival.

Audience ranking

According to the organisers, the results partly confirmed the jury's verdicts and partly brought the audience's own discoveries. Among the highest-rated films were titles from the competitions, Confrontations, Special Screenings, and the Animus. Cinema of Values and Free Spirit sections. In the top five feature films, besides the three films mentioned above, were two films: "De Gaulle" (fourth place, tied) and "Przez ścianę" (fifth place).