Many months of preparation, hundreds of watched films, countless discussions, and, finally, difficult decisions – all to shape the best possible programme for the 66th Krakow Film Festival. The selection committee brings together both theorists and practitioners: film scholars and filmmakers, critics and directors. Overseeing the entire process is the festival’s new Artistic Director, Anita Piotrowska. The titles selected by the team will be screened in festival cinemas at the turn of May and June, with a significant portion also available on KFF VOD.
“I’m excited that we have succeeded in putting together such a competent and diverse team. Each of the selectors brings their own unique perspective and taste, their own outlook on life and on cinema. I value all their comments and advice enormously,” comments Artistic Director Anita Piotrowska.
Short Form: Animation, Documentary, Fiction
Their excellent animated films have appeared at the Krakow Film Festival on multiple occasions. Now they are the ones shaping the programme of the coming Festival. The most compelling animated works will be selected by a two-person team led by the acclaimed and award-winning animator Zbigniew Czapla, joined by Marta Pajek — an equally talented animator whose films have been recognised at international festivals.
Her A Song of Humble Beauty screened this year in the National Competition, while his sharp writing has appeared in numerous print magazines and online publications. Audiovisual artist Anna Konik and film critic Michał Piepiórka are, with great attentiveness, watching this year’s short documentary submissions.
Short fiction films consistently generate the highest number of entries, hence the largest selection team. The challenging task of deciding which titles will be featured in the programme of the 66th Krakow Film Festival rests with film scholar and critic Magdalena Nieświec; director and journalist Kamil Czudej; film scholar and historian of Polish cinema Jarosław Grzechowiak; film scholar Anna Maria Piskorska; director Jakub Radej; film scholar Karolina Hołub; director Elżbieta Benkowska; and film critic and journalist Mateusz Demski.
The work of the short-film selection team is curated by Bartosz Tesarz — film scholar and organiser of both the Krakow Film Festival and the filmPOLSKA festival in Germany.
Long Form: Documentary
Full-length documentaries with a runtime exceeding 50 minutes will be selected by a six-member team of committed selectors working in pairs: film critic Barbara Kosecka, director Grzegorz Pacek, film critic and journalist Marcin Stachowicz, director Grzegorz Zariczny, film scholar Jędrzej Kościński, and director Edyta Wróblewska.
Their picks are closely overseen by Artistic Director Anita Piotrowska, who will be making the final programming decisions. In the spring, we are going to find out which of the proposed titles will enter the competitive sections and which will be presented out of competition.
The Krakow Film Festival is on the exclusive list of film events qualifying for the Academy Awards® in short film categories (fiction, animation, documentary) and feature-length documentary, the European Film Awards in the same categories, and serves as a qualifying event for the BAFTA Awards.
The Krakow Film Festival is organised with financial support from the City of Krakow, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Polish Film Institute, and the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme. The Polish Filmmakers Association serves as co-organiser.
The 66th Krakow Film Festival will be held in cinemas from 31 May to 7 June 2027 and online on KFF VOD from 5 June to 19 June 2026.