Artificial intelligence became the central subject of the 34th Camerimage Film Festival’s opening ceremony on Saturday, with a humanoid robot delivering the opening address before joining festival director Marek Żydowicz in a discussion about cinema’s future. The event in Toruń, Poland, also began with a minute of silence for victims of a mass shooting in Kraków.
Named Edward Warchocki, the Polish-speaking robot appeared onstage in place of Żydowicz, who subsequently joined it for an extended exchange. The director said the technology’s potential benefits and dangers would remain a major subject throughout the seven-day festival. Video contributions from Francis Ford Coppola, Gal Gadot, Christopher Nolan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Steven Spielberg and Ben Affleck brought further perspectives on AI to the three-hour ceremony at the Jordanki Culture Centre.
Darren Aronofsky received Camerimage’s honorary Award for Director. The filmmaker behind Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan has publicly supported generative AI in filmmaking since establishing his AI studio, Primordial Soup, last year. On his third visit to Camerimage, he praised its recognition of collaboration and the many people involved in making films, saying he hoped to return.
Polish film and stage actress Karolina Gruszka received the Marshal of the Kujawy Pomorze Region Film Award. Gruszka, who appeared in David Lynch’s final feature, Inland Empire, filmed in Poland, remembered the late filmmaker as a “master investigator” of stories. Cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, Spielberg’s longtime collaborator and an Oscar winner for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, received The Hollywood Reporter’s Visionary Award for his contributions to cinematography.
The festival also commemorated Polish director Andrzej Wajda, marking 100 years since his birth and 10 years since his death. The Polish Radio Choir from Lusławice performed a cappella interpretations of music from his major films. Poland’s Senate has designated 2026 as The Year of Wajda.
The opening screening continued the focus on technology with Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial, which depicts OpenAI’s origins. Andrew Garfield plays Sam Altman, while Yura Borisov portrays Ilya Sutskever. Guadagnino and cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed discussed the production onstage, where Sayeed described AI as “just a tool, like any other.”
Guadagnino, who filmed Artificial on 35 mm and has expressed no interest in incorporating AI into his work, focused instead on the concentration of economic and political influence among technology leaders. He said Simon Rich’s screenplay provided a way to examine how a small number of people exert control over societies. Neon will release the film in the United States on Dec. 25.
The celebrations unfolded against reports that at least six people had been killed and more than a dozen injured in Kraków earlier that day. A gunman suspected of far-right ties reportedly drove into the historic Main Market Square and opened fire. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said three additional bodies were subsequently discovered at the suspect’s home, making the shooting Poland’s deadliest in decades.
Local politicians scheduled to address the opening acknowledged the seriousness of the attack before the program proceeded. Camerimage continues through Nov. 14.
