The ceremonial session of the Senate, which took place on October 4, 2024, inaugurated the 2024/2025 academic year.

The ceremony was graced by the presence of invited guests who joined us in welcoming new students:
* Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Sławomir Rogowski

and representatives of the authorities of the City of Łódź and the Łódź voivodeship:
* Deputy Voivode of Łódź, Marek Mazur
* Deputy Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship, Agnieszka Ryś
* Deputy Mayor of the City of Łódź, Małgorzata Moskwa-Wodnicka

The inauguration was led by the new authorities of the School, elected for the term of office 2024-2028: Her Magnificence the Rector of the Lodz Film School, Milenia Fiedler, PhD; Vice-Rector for Students and Curriculum, Prof. Marek Szyryk, PhD; Vice-Rector for Science and Artistic Creativity, Katarzyna Mąka-Malatyńska, PhD
and the Deans of the Faculties: Film and Television Directing – Dr. Leszek Dawid, Cinematography and Television Production – Prof. Dr. Paweł Edelman, Acting – Prof. Piotr Seweryński, PhD and Film Art Organization – Dr. Anna Pachnicka.

We were happy to host representatives of other universities as our guests:
* His Magnificence the Rector of the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw, Prof. Wiesław Czołpiński, PhD
* Vice-Rector of the Stanisław Wyspiański Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków, Olga Katafiasz, PhD
* Vice-Rector of the Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music, Maciej Staszewski, PhD
* Vice-Rector of the Medical University of Łódź, Prof. Adam Durczyński, PhD M.D.

Recalling the past year, we honoured those employees and graduates of the School who passed away in 2024 with a minute’s silence: Ewa Nagurska, Janusz Majewski, Arkadiusz Tomiak, Krzysztof Silczak and Jacek Wosiewicz.

Every beginning opens up a distant look into dreams – full of hope, verve and with the courage take risks. After all, for our first-year students, film studies are a dream come true.

The Rector of the School, Milenia Fiedler, addressed her words of welcome to the students: "Studying at the Film School is a unique privilege which gives you not only access to knowledge and tools, but also the opportunity to express yourself in a way that has the power to change. With this privilege comes obligation, not only to yourself, but also to society. Art is a space of freedom in which you can explore the deepest emotions and ideas. But this freedom comes responsibility - for the words, images and narratives you create. Use the time to develop your skills, but also to think about what role you want to play as creators. Let your passion be a tool, not a goal."
This year’s inauguration was also an opportunity to honour our outstanding and long-serving teaching, technical and administrative staff with awards.

During the ceremony, Minister Sławomir Rogowski presented medals awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda to:

* KNIGHT'S CROSS: Andrzej Mellin, PhD

* SILVER CROSS OF MERIT:
Prof. Krzysztof Heyke, PhD
Prof. Jacek Koprowicz, PhD
Prof. Mirosław Ledwosiński, PhD
Prof. Ryszard Lenczewski, PhD
Prof. Stanisław Szymański, PhD
Zdzisław Kuczyński, MA

* BRONZE CROSS OF MERIT:
Prof. Andrzej Sapija, MA

* GOLD MEDAL FOR LONG-TERM SERVICE:
Prof. Aleksander Błoński, PhD
Marek Chrustowski
Elżbieta Cota
Cecylia Pacura
Tomasz Stefaniak
Beata Szczepańska
Karol Włudarczyk

Minister Sławomir Rogowski also presented medals awarded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage:

* Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis – Prof. Alicja Panek-Piętkowska, PhD

* Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis - Wojciech Staroń, PhD

* Gold Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis – Prof. Bronisław Wrocławski, PhD

Marek Mazur, Deputy Voivode of Łódź, presented medals awarded by the National Education Commission to:
Joanna Jasińska-Koronkiewicz, PhD
Tomasz Michałowski, PhD
Jacek Rokosz, PhD
Anna Sarna-Śniecikowska, PhD
Katarzyna Taras, PhD
Dr Małgorzata Kotlińska
Dr Matylda Paszczenko
Dr Marek Rudnicki

This academic year, 244 first-year students are starting their studies.

The matriculation of first-year students was led by Prof. Marek Szyryk, Vice-Rector for Students, who addressed them... to the rhythm of a rap song: "Dear first-year students, (...) By deciding to start your studies, you join the group of those who have the courage to dream and pursue their boldest goals. This is your time - a time of learning, development and experimentation. Within the walls of this school, you can gain knowledge which will allow you to change the world. (...) To these wishes, I allow myself to add the words of a hip-hop song by PROBL3M: "If to create, it must be history / If to do something it must be a splash (...) / If ever, it is now / If there’s an award, you must be the winner! If there’s an award, you must be the winner!"

After the matriculation ceremony, the new chairman of the Student Government, Adrian Pietruszewski, said: "It's great to have a voice, a voice with which you can move people, awake them, fight, defend, put to sleep, talk about the world. However, speaking out involves a lot of risk: the risk of being misunderstood or rejected. But despite this - it's worth speaking. We are risk-takers after all!"

The Acting Department prepared an artistic part – a concert performed by fourth-year students of the Acting Department under the artistic supervision of Ms. Agnieszka Greinert, accompanied by Marcin Powalski. For us sang: Zuzanna Markowska, Sara Lityńska, Waldo Bastida, Magdalena Sękiewicz, Michalina Dworzaczek, Klaudia Kuźmińska.

And finally, the film DANCING IN THE CORNER directed by Jan Bujnowski and made thanks to a grant from the Doctoral School and produced by INDEKS Film Studio was screened. The film was presented at the last Cannes festival, in the short film competition Semaine de la Critique, where it received one of the awards.

Thank you for your presence and shared emotions. The academic year 2024/2025 has been inaugurated and is already making a splash!

ed. M. Lisiecka-Muniak
photos: M. Zacharow