66th Krakow Film Festival: A Celebration of Documentary, Short, and Animated Cinema
The historic city of Krakow once again became the European capital of documentary, short, and animated film. The 66th Krakow Film Festival welcomed filmmakers, critics, producers, and cinema enthusiasts from around the world, reaffirming its position as one of Europe’s most significant film events.
A total of 201 films competed primarily for the appreciation of audiences and professionals alike, just as they had in previous years, regardless of the prevailing political system under which we happen to live and create. I was there in the late 1960s when Polish filmmakers, in particular, presented highly critical and openly engaged works that inspired not only Eastern but also Western filmmakers.
The Krakow Film Festival was the birthplace of many distinguished Polish documentary filmmakers, including Krzysztof Kieślowski, Wojciech Wiszniewski, and Marcel Łoziński. It was also here that renowned Polish animators left their mark, among them Ryszard Czekała, Jerzy Kucia, Julian Antoniszczak, Piotr Dumała, and Zbigniew Rybczyński, who won the Academy Award for his film Tango. Alongside respected documentarians and animators, many filmmakers whose names later became widely recognised in feature cinema also participated and received acclaim in the festival’s international competitions, including Pier Paolo Pasolini, Werner Herzog, Zoltán Huszárik, Jaromil Jireš, Claude Lelouch, Patrice Leconte, Andrea Arnold, Mike Leigh, and Jan Svěrák. Among Slovak filmmakers, it is worth mentioning Martin Slivka, as well as his student Vlado Balco and Dušan Hudec. All received significant festival awards.
The festival consists of four main competitions: three international competitions (Documentary, Short Film, and DocFilmMusic) and one national competition. The programme is accompanied by exhibitions, concerts, outdoor screenings, KFF TALKS discussions, and meetings with filmmakers. Every year, it welcomes approximately 1,000 Polish and international guests—directors, producers, festival organisers—as well as large audiences from Krakow, across Poland, and abroad.
The event now takes place not only in Krakow’s arthouse cinemas but also online through KFF VOD, allowing viewers to watch films from the comfort of their homes until 19 June. Over the years, both the format and status of the festival have evolved. Today, the festival’s prestige is confirmed by its accreditation from the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), the European Film Academy (EFA), and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), among others. These affiliations help shorten the path to Academy Award nominations in the short film and documentary categories. The festival is also among the prestigious events that qualify short films and feature documentaries for the European Film Awards.
The 66th edition confirmed that Krakow remains a meeting place for cultures, ideas, and artistic visions. The programme featured films from numerous countries, representing diverse storytelling styles and approaches to depicting reality. It provided a platform both for established filmmakers and for newcomers embarking on their professional journeys in cinema.
Particularly strong interest surrounded discussions on the future of documentary filmmaking in the digital era and the role of artificial intelligence in the creation of audiovisual works. Once again, the festival demonstrated that documentary cinema remains one of the most important tools for understanding the contemporary world. The competing films addressed themes of identity, migration, climate change, social conflict, artificial intelligence, and historical memory.
The filmmakers did not limit themselves to merely recording events. Increasingly, they employed innovative artistic techniques, blending documentary with elements of film essays, animation, and experimental cinema. Audiences were thus able not only to learn facts but also to experience emotions and reflections that transcended the boundaries of traditional reportage.
It is impossible to mention all the recipients of the festival’s Lajkonik, Golden Horn, and Dragon awards, but several deserve particular attention. The honorary Dragon of Dragons Award for outstanding contribution to world documentary cinema was presented to Kim Longinotto.
The winner of the International Documentary Competition and recipient of the Golden Horn was Tristan Forever, directed by Tobias Nölle and Loran Bonnardot. The film tells the story of a Parisian doctor who decides to leave behind his established urban life and move to a remote island. The universal desire for a new life and a new identity ultimately loses out to the familiar environment of one’s existence.
The creators of the remarkable feature-length documentary Tickling the Devil (Igrając z diabłem), directed by Piotr Małecki and Maciek Nabrdalik, appeared on stage no fewer than three times. The film follows renowned American photographer Christopher Morris, who documented 28 armed conflicts around the world. There are no battle scenes or dramatic wartime footage. Instead, viewers encounter the calm testimony of a man recounting his life alongside the demons that often surrounded him. The film received the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s Human Rights in Motion Award, the Golden Lajkonik for Best Feature Documentary in the Polish Competition, and the Audience Award, shared with Where Music Grows (Et klassisk liv), directed by Katrine Philp. Editor Ilona Urbańska-Grzyb received the Polish Filmmakers Association Award for her work on the film.
Also deserving mention is the Czech-Slovak co-production If Pigeons Turned to Gold, directed by Pepa Lubojacki, recipient of the Best Documentary Award at the 76th Berlinale, the Caligari Award, the Czech Lion for 2025, and, in Krakow, the Silver Horn for a socially engaged film.
The FIPRESCI jury faced a challenging task. The thirteen films in the International Documentary Competition offered a broad spectrum of perspectives, ranging from psychological portraits such as The Arctic Circle of Lust (Pohjoinen intohimo, dir. Markku Heikkinen) and Magic Hour (dir. Marcin Borchardt), through the previously mentioned Tristan Forever, Tickling the Devil, and If Pigeons Turned to Gold, to explorations of contemporary and historical conflicts including Silent Flood (dir. Dymtro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk), Around Paradise (Im Umkreis des Paradieses, dir. Yulia Lokshina), and Redlight to Limelight (dir. Bipuljit Basu). Other entries provided social and political analyses, including Holofiction (dir. Michał Kosakowski), The Winning Generation (dir. Marco de Stefanis), The Fabulous Time Machine (A Fabulosa Máquina do Tempo, dir. Eliza Capai), and Synthetic Sincerity (dir. Marc Isaacs).
Following extensive discussion, the jury unanimously awarded the FIPRESCI Prize of the 66th Krakow Film Festival to the Macedonian film The Tale of Silyan, directed by Tamara Kotevska. The filmmaker is among the most respected voices in contemporary documentary cinema. She gained international recognition through works exploring the relationship between people, nature, and communities living on the margins of the globalised world. Her filmmaking is distinguished by extraordinary visual sensitivity and an ability to create deeply emotional narratives.
The Tale of Silyan continues this artistic trajectory. It combines documentary observation with an almost poetic style of storytelling. Kotevska focuses not only on her protagonists and their daily experiences but also on the broader social and cultural context surrounding them. The FIPRESCI jury particularly praised the film’s authenticity and exceptional visual form. According to many critics, it demonstrates that documentary cinema can be both profoundly humanistic and artistically innovative. The award for this beautiful yet uncompromisingly multilayered work continues FIPRESCI’s tradition of supporting courageous films that seek new ways of portraying reality while avoiding simplistic answers to the complex questions of our time.
The 66th Krakow Film Festival once again confirmed its exceptional status in the world of cinema. The event not only showcases a high artistic standard but also provides a platform for discussion of the most pressing issues facing contemporary society.
This year’s edition, under the new leadership of two women—Festival Director Barbara Orlicz-Szczypuła, who succeeded Krzysztof Gierat (a festival veteran and my friend from student days) after twenty-five years at the helm, and Artistic Director Anita Piotrowska—demonstrated that short-form filmmaking, which often surpasses feature films in its impact despite its length, remains a vibrant medium capable of responding to changing realities and continually seeking new forms of artistic expression.
Krakow once again became a meeting place for filmmakers and audiences united by the belief that cinema can do more than tell stories—it can inspire reflection, dialogue, and social change. This is precisely why the Krakow Film Festival remains one of Europe’s most important cultural events, and why each new edition is eagerly anticipated by the global film community.
Ladislav Volko
© FIPRESCI 2026