Graphic author: Weronika Wasilewska

Who we are

The Polish Animation Research Group (Grupa Badawcza Polska Animacja, GBPA) is an association of scholars conducting academic research on Polish animated film. We operate within the Department of Film and Audiovisual Media at the University of Lodz.

GBPA Leaders (terms of office)

• Agata Czajkowska and Katarzyna Żmuda (2025/2026)
• Joanna Kosińska-Wajcht and Dominik Piekarski (2024/2025)
• Martyna Gonciarz and Szymon Szul (2023/2024)
• Oliwia Nadarzycka and Agata Hofelmajer-Roś (2022/2023)
• Ewa Ciszewska (2021/2022)

Scientific Advisory Board

• Dr Olga Bobrowska (University of the National Education Commission in Kraków)
• Dr Mikołaj Birek (University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów)

Academic Head of GBPA

• Dr Ewa Ciszewska (University of Lodz)

Members of the Polish Animation Research Group (GBPA)

• Olga Bobrowska (Institute of Art and Design, University of the National Education Commission in Kraków)
• Agnieszka Powierska-Domalewska (State University of Applied Sciences in Włocławek)
• Mikołaj Birek (University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów)
• Ewa Ciszewska (University of Lodz)
• Agata Czajkowska (University of Lodz)
• Natalia Dutka (University of Lodz)
• Katarzyna Figat (Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz / Łódź Film School)
• Martyna Gonciarz (University of Lodz)
• Agata Hofelmajer-Roś (Doctoral School, University of Silesia)
• Joanna Kosińska-Wajcht (University of Lodz; Museum of Cinematography in Łódź)
• Antoni Majewski (University of Gdańsk)
• Oliwia Nadarzycka (Doctoral School of Humanities, University of Lodz)
• Michał Pabiś-Orzeszyna (University of Lodz)
• Dominik Piekarski (University of Lodz)
• Jarosław Płuciennik (University of Lodz)
• Katarzyna Prajzner (University of Lodz)
• Piotr Sitarski (University of Lodz)
• Szymon Szul (Doctoral School of Humanities, University of Lodz)
• Adam Trwoga (Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology)
• Katarzyna Żmuda (SWPS University)

Our goals

We support the development of Animation Studies. Our aim is to initiate and conduct academic and outreach projects devoted to animated film. We connect early-career and senior scholars working on animation, believing that an efficient circulation of knowledge fosters broader and more productive collaboration in this field of research.

How we can support you

We assist in the development of individual research projects. We support the preparation of grant applications and applications to doctoral schools. GBPA’s activities also include mentoring those interested in writing academic articles and theses on Polish animation. We facilitate access – often prior to public release – to films, books, and interviews.

How you can get involved

If you have an idea for an article or a long-term research project related to Polish animation, get in touch with us. Contact us if you are looking for a supervisor for a thesis on animation. Are you interested in working with interviews? Would you like to gain experience in archival research, data collection, and data processing? On an ongoing basis, we seek people willing to engage – on site or online – in research and educational projects carried out by GBPA members.

How to join

We invite students and doctoral candidates, researchers employed in academic, educational, and research institutions (universities, colleges, research institutes, academies, schools, etc.), as well as animation enthusiasts, to join our group.

Conditions for joining the Polish Animation Research Group:

• a declaration of active engagement in GBPA activities, including the organisation of research projects and academic events under the Group’s banner, supporting other members’ initiatives, and participation in organisational and communication activities;
• documented academic or organisational activity in the field of animation, confirmed by publications and/or participation in academic conferences.

Those wishing to join GBPA are invited to send an email to gbpa[at]uni.lodz.pl including:

• full name
• email address
• status (student, doctoral candidate, employed researcher, etc.)
• academic affiliation (if applicable)
• list of publications or conference presentations related to animation
• information on other animation-related activities
• information on planned forms of involvement in GBPA activities

Decisions on membership are made by the Scientific Advisory Board in consultation with the Academic Head.

What we have accomplished

In our relatively short history (GBPA informally began its activities on 28 October 2021, coinciding with the International Animation Day, and was officially established on 24 September 2025), we have carried out numerous valuable initiatives.

Our flagship events

Animation at the Academy

An open, recurring academic event integrating scholars and practitioners of animated film. Its aim is to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, experience, and ideas, as well as to initiate cooperation between individuals working on animation in various academic and artistic contexts. The meeting has a seminar-networking format: each participant is given five minutes for self-presentation, including their research, publications, projects, resources, or research questions.

To date, two editions have been held at the University of Lodz, accompanying the International StopTrik Festival in Łódź (2023 and 2024). Participants included scholars from Poland, Hungary, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The next edition of Animation at the Academy will take place on 24 April 2026 at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. The event partner is the International Animated Film Festival Animocje.

Animated, Not Anonymous. The O! Polish Animation Conference

A biennial academic conference and the most important scholarly event in Poland devoted to Polish animation. It is held every two years at the University of Łódź. The first edition took place on 13–14 September 2021, the second on 17–18 May 2023 (online), and the most recent one on 9–10 October 2025.

GBPA Discusses

Screenings and discussions devoted to animated film at the Faculty of Philology, University of Lodz, in the format: introduction – screening – discussion. Past events include:

• Puppet Films in the Work of Jerzy Kotowski, 27 February 2024, moderated by Dominik Piekarski
• Music in the Films of Zenon Wasilewski, 9 April 2024, moderated by Joanna Kosińska-Wajcht
• Forgotten Women of Animation: Lidia Hornicka, 21 May 2024, moderated by Zofia Wzorek
• Images of the Countryside in the Puppet Films of Tadeusz Wilkosz and Zenon Wasilewski, 21 March 2025, moderated by Dominik Piekarski
• The Male World of Animation: Gender Stereotypes in Polish Animated TV Series, 30 May 2025, moderated by Izabela Nowakowska
• Noises and Crackles: Sound and Music in the Films of Piotr Dumała, 11 June 2025, moderated by Joanna Kosińska-Wajcht
• The World of Arthropods in Children’s Film: Selected Examples of Computer Animation, 12 November 2025, moderated by Agata Gąsieniec

Each year, we strive to create opportunities for the academic community of the Faculty of Philology at the University of Lodz to meet outstanding guests – researchers and practitioners of animated film. Lectures, workshops, and screenings have been delivered by Joanna Kożuch (Slovakia, April 2024) and Tereza Bochinová (Czech Republic, March 2025). Study visits were conducted by Jennifer Lynde Barker (USA, July 2024) and Evgenia Amey (Finland, September 2025).

Research and educational projects

GBPA members have been involved in the following projects:

• Animation Studios in Gottwaldov and Łódź (1945/47–1990): A Comparative Collective Biography – a grant awarded within the international CEUS UNISONO competition. The project was carried out in 2021–2024 at the UUniversity of Lodz (National Science Centre project no. 2020/02/Y/HS2/00015) and Masaryk University in Brno. Principal investigators: Prof. Pavel Skopal (Masaryk University) and Dr Ewa Ciszewska (University of Lodz). Key Polish team members: Dr Ewa Ciszewska, Dr Michał Pabiś-Orzeszyna; grant holders: Martyna Gonciarz, Agata Hofelmajer-Roś, Oliwia Nadarzycka, Monika Rawska, Szymon Szul.
• Development of a National Strategy for Education in the Animation and Visual Effects Industries for 2023–2030 — initiated by the production company MOMAKIN. Partners: University of Lodz (Faculty of Philology and Department of Film and Audiovisual Media), the Polish Animation Producers Association (SPPA), and Trollfilm AS. The project was carried out in 2022–2023. Principal investigator: Prof. Piotr Sitarski. Key team members: Prof. Piotr Sitarski, Dr Michał Pabiś-Orzeszyna.
• Transformations of Film Production at the Se-Ma-For Studio of Small Film Forms in Łódź (1960–1968) — a project carried out by Oliwia Nadarzycka within the Student Research Grants of the University of Lodz (2021). Currently, MA Oliwia Nadarzycka is developing her doctoral dissertation at the Doctoral School of Humanities, University of Lodz, entitled Foreign Circulation of Polish Animated Film in the Socialist Period (supervisor: Prof. Piotr Sitarski).
• The Artistic Career of Stanisław Lenartowicz in the Context of the Operating Conditions of the Se-Ma-For Studio of Small Film Forms in Łódź and Between Bednarska and Sesame Street: Se-Ma-For Studio Co-productions in the 1990s — projects by Szymon Szul within the Student Research Grants of the University of Lodz (2021 and 2022). Currently, MA Szymon Szul is developing his doctoral dissertation at the Doctoral School of Humanities, University of Lodz, entitled International Cooperation of the Se-Ma-For Studio of Small Film Forms (supervisor: Prof. Piotr Sitarski).

Cooperation

GBPA members cooperate with:

Festivals:
O!PLA Polish Animation Festival; Rising of Lusitania – AnimaDoc Film Festival; International Animated Film Festival Animocje (Bydgoszcz); International Animated Film Festival Animator (Poznań); Etiuda & Anima International Film Festival (Kraków); Animafest (Gdańsk); Copernicon (Toruń).

Museums, cultural institutions, and studios:
Museum of Cinematography in Łódź; Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum in Łódź; National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute; National Centre for Film Culture; Studio of Animated Films in Bielsko-Biała.

Contact

Contact us by email at gbpa[at]uni.lodz.pl or via Messenger (Facebook page: Grupa Badawcza Polska Animacja). You may also contact individual members whose profiles or activities are of interest to you. We are open to new collaborations.