Poland’s first series festival – BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon already in December

A series – the most willingly watched audiovisual content worldwide

BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon is Poland’s first series festival. As we all know, the boom in series has lasted for over a decade – explains Szymon Miszczak, the Festival Director and President of the OFF CAMERA Foundation. Our aim is to bring together viewers, streaming services and series authors, and also, or perhaps most of all, to create space that will help Polish series industry to develop and to promote it. That is why we have created Poland’s first Best Series of the Year Competition. The choice of the location is not a random one, as Warsaw is the center, a hub of a Polish series and at the same time the setting for numerous domestic productions – adds Szymon Miszczak.

BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon Festival will last five days and take place in seven Cinema halls and common spaces of Kinoteka in the Palace of Culture and Science. This is an iconic venue on the cultural map of the city, a place where 150 years of tradition and the atmosphere of the post-war Warsaw meet the modern standard of screening halls. And the possibility to watch series in cinema halls is a real treat – it does not happen very often. The Festival has the ambition to change that.

Awards for the series industry

BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon has put on the Polish market prestigious awards for the domestic series industry. In the competition’s first edition, an international and independent jury will judge series produced within the last two years. Awards will be presented in the following nine categories:

• Best Series of the Year 2024 
• Best Director 
• Best Actor 
• Best Actress 
• Best Screenplay 
• Best Cinematography 
• Best Casting Director
• BNP Paribas Tomorrow’s Icon
• the Audience Award is to be presented too.

For over 100 years, under the slogan #WeLoveCinema, BNP Paribas Bank has been supporting the cinema which has naturally developed into series, so popular and willingly watched today. Therefore, we take great satisfaction from supporting the BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon initiative, a festival in an entirely new format. It is perfectly in line with the values cherished by our bank: the event’s program comprises productions which break stereotypes and support the message about the power of diversity, and also those that, despite their short form, manage to present intense emotions experienced at most significant events, by both individuals and entire societies. Five diverse festival sections will showcase numerous series that deal with issues of great importance not only for us but possibly also for a large group of viewers, bringing together different cultural trends and spheres. I am convinced that this event will show us how series have evolved over the years and how they interact with wider culture – says Darek Maciołek, Chief Marketing Officer at BNP Paribas Bank.

Series screenings in cinema halls and meetings with creators

From noon until late at night, as the program provides also for night series marathons, Kinoteka screening halls will be filled with a wide range of series-related emotions – says Kaja Szafrańska, BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon Program Director. The program we have been working on for months, offers both the most recent productions, premiere and pre- premiere screenings, and the classics we could watch on and on in the comfort of our homes. But… we’ve never had a chance to watch them in cinema halls, in such an atmosphere! – Szafrańska adds – I can assure you that watching series on the silver screen is an entirely different experience which blurs the boundary between a series and a film.

BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon program will include five series sections:

• “Warsaw by night” is a review of the biggest Polish series illustrating the capital city from the perspective of their creators, actors and screenwriters, and at the same time the historic and cultural transformations taking place over the past couple of decades.
• “Polonica” will focus on the Polish-related topics in foreign productions, and the success enjoyed by Polish series and actors around the world in the context of the growing importance of Polish series industry on a global scale.
• “Outside the Box” will showcase productions that break stereotypes, promote diversity and reach beyond genre borders. The program offers titles that not only break the common patterns but also educate socially.
• “Multiverse” will explore the merging of different pop culture genres and their impact on contemporary series. It will present titles inspired by video games, podcasts, cartoons, Twitter posts (now X), and also series remakes and reboots, and literature adaptations.
• “Retro” will take viewers on a journey through iconic series, demonstrating evolution of this genre over the years and the big impact they have on contemporary productions. 

Series Village and activities for participants

Screenings of series is not all that the organizers of BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon have prepared. The Starzyński Hall at Kinoteka, the main venue of the Festival, will offer special space arranged by streaming services. This will be interactive and dynamic space offering attractions inspired by popular series. The admission will be free of charge. 

Right in front of Kinoteka, you will find the Series Village which will certainly attract passers-by and series fans attention. That place, bustling with festival energy, will invite visitors to immerse themselves in series emotions awaiting them inside Kinoteka.

5 days of series emotions

The five-day event will offer a wide range of activities, including:

• Screenings in cinemas and night series marathons, competition and out-of-competition screenings, often accompanied by meetings with the creators (Q&A), including key premiere screenings.
• Panel discussions – cross-cutting topics with participation of foreign guests (actors, directors, producers, journalists, series bloggers, pop culture researchers).
• Meetings with creators – bringing together fans with their favorite actors and providing an opportunity to become familiar with the behind-the-scenes world of series.
• Educational workshops and lectures for series fans.
• Industry meetings as part of the SerialCon Industry section.

Program and details

The event’s detailed program will be presented in mid-November. Right then, tickets and passes will be released for sale via warsawserialcon.pl. You can now follow the BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon social media where organizers will provide further information and release news on the festival program:

Join the first Poland’s series festival – BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon already on December 4–8, 2024 at Kinoteka, Warsaw.

The event is organized by OFF CAMERA Foundation in partnership with the capital city of Warsaw. The festival’s titular partner is BNP Paribas Bank.