No fewer than 21 documentary projects will take part in DOC LAB POLAND at the Krakow Film Festival. The twelfth edition of the programme is organised by the Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation in collaboration with KFF Industry.
1 czerwca rozpocznie się druga sesja programu DOC LAB POLAND 2026, która zakończy się pitchingami w ramach KFF Industry podczas Krakowskiego Festiwalu Filmowego. Uczestnicy programu wezmą udział w warsztatach i konsultacjach ze światowymi ekspertami branży dokumentalnej: Mariną Burić, menedżerką ds. rynków międzynarodowych IDFA; Ove Rishøj Jensenem, szefem Co-Production Forum FIPADOC; Chrstianem Poppem, producentem; Radą Šešić, selekcjonerką festiwalową, szefową Konkursu Dokumentalnego na Sarajevo FF; Nadją Tennstedt, dyrektorką DOK Industry w DOK Leipzig. Następnie swoje projekty
The second session of the DOC LAB POLAND 2026 programme will begin on 1 June and will conclude with pitching sessions as part of KFF Industry during the Krakow Film Festival. Participants will take part in workshops and consultations with leading international experts in the documentary sector: Marina Burić, Head of International Markets at IDFA; Ove Rishøj Jensen, head of the FIPADOC Co-Production Forum; Christian Popp, producer; Rada Šešić, festival programmer and head of the Documentary Competition at Sarajevo FF; and Nadja Tennstedt, director of DOK Industry at DOK Leipzig. They will then present their projects at pitch sessions to leading Polish and international producers, distributors, festival programmers and sales agents.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
DOC LAB POLAND 2026 is organised by the Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation in collaboration with the Krakow Film Festival. The first session of the programme took place in March and focused on consultations with directors and producers, work on promotional materials, and training in project presentations.
As in previous years, the second session of the programme will focus on preparing participants to present and promote their projects on the international market and to establish contacts. Experts will support filmmakers in preparing for pitching sessions before an international panel of experts and for discussions with potential partners, and will help them highlight the universal appeal and international context of their projects.
This year, Poland’s largest programme for documentary filmmakers is once again taking place under the slogan DOC LAB POLAND & UKRAINE; Polish filmmakers will be joined by a group of filmmakers and producers from Ukraine for the sessions in Kraków. Thanks to funding from the Polish Film Institute, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the Mieroszewski Institute, we are able to support and facilitate the participation of seven Ukrainian teams. Two projects will feature at Doc Lab Start, one at Doc Lab Go, and four producers at CEDOC Market.
On 3 and 4 June, there will be pitching sessions for projects being developed as part of this year’s programme. DOCS TO START participants, who are working on films in the development phase or early stages of production, will present their projects to potential co-producers and representatives of institutions, film funds and broadcasters. Meanwhile, directors and producers with films in the editing stage will present their projects to invited sales agents, festival programmers, broadcasters and distributors at the DOCS TO GO pitching session.
SELECTED PROJECTS 2026
DOCS TO START:
„Bracia” /„Brothers”, reż./dir. Franciszek Berbeka, Stanisław Berbeka, prod. Justyna Ziemkiewicz / Warsaw Production Team
„Damas”/ „The Weight of Sound”, reż./dir. Joo Joostberens, prod. Aia Asé – Aia Asé Pictures
„Dobranoc, księżniczki” /„Good Night, Princesses”, reż./dir. Iga Łapińska, prod.Barbara Welbel-Vaknin, Karolina Śmigiel / UNI-SOLO Studio
„Fermata”, dir. Oleksandra Hromova, prod. Daria Lanova – UKRAINE
„Film o robieniu miejsca w sercu” / „Doing the Heart Work”, reż./dir. Maciej Miller, prod. Ewa Hoffmann, Joanna Tatko / Balans Sp. z o.o
„Hearts of Coal”, dir. Regina Maryanovska-Davidzon, prod. Regina Maryanovska-Davidzon,, Céline Loiseau / Real Pictures – UKRAINE
„Mistrz Ceremonii” / „Master of Ceremonies”, reż./dir. Katarzyna Piórek, prod. Stanisław Zaborowski / Silver Frame
„Najlepsza”/„The Best” reż./dir. Karol Lindholm, prod. Mateusz Kordyl, Aleksey Zgonik / Lost at Sea
„Ostatni pies”/„The Last Dog”, reż./dir. Janusz Gawryluk, prod. Karol Zagórski, Konrad Zagórski / ZIZU Films
„Przesmyk” / „The Gap”, reż./dir. Paweł Ferdek, prod. Siarhei Marchyk, Marita Bierońska / Marchello Production Siarhei Marchyk
„Sen Hefajstosa”/„The Dream of Hephaestus”, reż./dir. i prod. Tomasz Wysokiński / Ayahuasca Project
„Siostry” / „Sisters”, reż./dir. Weronika Chwałek, prod. Agnieszka Zwiefka / Chilli Productions
„Trans Matki”/„Trans Mom”, reż./dir. Maria Wider, prod. Marta Dużbabel / PINOT FILMS
DOCS TO GO:
„Bogowie pamięci” / „Gods of Memory”, reż./dir. i prod. Kamil Król, prod. Marta Rybacka, Konrad Falęcki / Dobry Film
„Cameo”, reż. i prod. Siarhei Marchyk, prod. Marita Bierońska / Marchello Production
„Coś się rodzi, ktoś umiera” / „Something is born, someone dies”, reż./dir. Tadeusz Chudy, prod. Joanna Zielińska / BIG WAVE FILMS
„DNA of the Nation”, dir. Ivan Sautkin, prod. Ivanna Khitsinska / WAYA Production / Babylon 13 – UKRAINE
„Głos”/„The Voices”, reż./dir. Aleksandra Folczak, prod. Anna Majek, Julia Jendrysik / Rizz Films
„Jeszcze nie już” / „No longer, not yet”, reż./dir. Grzegorz Szczepaniak, prod. Marta Dużbabel / PINOT FILMS
„Pamiętniki Małżeńskie – tworzenie rodziny” / „Marriage Diaries – the making of a family” reż./dir. Agata Wojcierowska Gillerman, Dorel Gillerman, prod. Agata Wojcierowska Gillerman / Bright Future
„Preemies” / „Wcześniaki”, reż. /dir. Paweł Ziemilski, prod. Maciej Kubicki / Telemark
The best projects presented at the pitch sessions are in with a chance of winning prizes funded by the organiser and the programme’s partners. This year, these include: the Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation with a grant of 15,000 PLN, FINA with a voucher for archive materials worth 50,000 PLN, vouchers for image and sound post-production services from the Feature Film Studio in Wrocław, vouchers for image post-production services from Orka and Fixafilm, a voucher for sound post-production services from Ole Sound Studio, a voucher for film equipment hire from MX35, music consultancy and film music rights from No Problemo Music. An invitation to participate in Co-Pro Meetings at DOK Leipzig, IDFA Forum, Jihlava New Vision Market and FIPADOC Industry, promotional support for the selected project from Polish Docs PRO, and one year’s free membership plus one consultation with a DAE expert. In total, the Doc Lab Poland 2026 prize pool will amount to over PLN 180,000.
DOC LAB POLAND oraz CEDOC Market są organizowane przez Fundację Filmową im. Władysława Ślesickiego we współpracy z KFF Industry, a partnerem strategicznym jest Krakowski Festiwal Filmowy.