On 31 August 2026, the Jury of the Polish Society for Film and Media Studies competition for the best book of 2025 convened. The Jury, composed of Łucja Demby (Chair), Adam Wyżyński (Secretary), Barbara Kita, Krzysztof Kornacki and Piotr Śmiałowski, unanimously decided to award the Book of the Year prize to Dr Emil Sowiński’s publication “Niezależni producenci. Studio Filmowe im. Karola Irzykowskiego w latach 1981–2005”, published in 2025 by the Lodz University Press.
The book is devoted to the history and activities of one of the most important independent institutions in Polish cinema. Dr Sowiński analyses how the studio operated, examining both its production activities and the broader context of the transformations that took place within Polish film culture. The publication represents a significant contribution to research on the history of independent Polish cinema and its institutional foundations.
This is another major distinction in Dr Emil Sowiński’s academic career. In 2025, he was a finalist for the “Polityka” Scientific Awards, while his doctoral dissertation, prepared under the supervision of Prof. Konrad Klejsa, received the Alicja Helman Chapter Award for the best doctoral thesis in film and media studies.
More about the award-winning book: Lodz University Press (in Polish)
