The annual American Film Festival is an opportunity to see what American independent cinema has to offer juxtaposed with the highly commercial offer of the mainstream cinema at Polish multiplexes. The festival follows traditions of the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, and many others held across the United States. The competition is separated into two segments: the SPECTRUM segment ($10,000 award) and the AMERICAN DOCS segment ($5,000 award), plus the ON THE EDGE segment featuring original films that fall outside of conventional cinematography.