Awards

Statutory awards

The Golden Horn ph. A. Fiejka

Documentary Competition

  • Golden Horn for the director of the best film.
  • Silver Horn for the director of the film of high artistic merit.
  • Silver Horn for the director of the film highlighting social issues.
The Golden Dragon ph. A. Fiejka

Short Film Competition

  • Golden Dragon for the director of the best film.
  • Silver Dragon for the director of the best documentary film.
  • Silver Dragon for the director of the best animated film.
  • Silver Dragon for the director of the best fiction film.

The awards granted in this competition shorten the path of applying for an Oscar nomination.

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The Golden Hobby-Horse, ph. A. Fiejka

National Competition

  • Golden Hobby-Horse for the best feature-length documentary film funded by Polish Filmmakers Association
  • Golden Hobby-Horse for the best short documentary film.
  • Golden Hobby-Horse for the best short animation.
  • Golden Hobby-Horse for the best short fiction.
The Golden Heynal, fot. A. Fiejka

DoCfilmMusic Competition

  • Golden Heynal for director of the best film.

Non-statutory awards

Documentary Competition

  • European Commission Parliamentary Assembly award for a film addressing contemporary challenges to democracy and human rights (5 000 EUR)
  • FIPRESCI International Federation of Film Critics Award

Short Film Competition

  • Jury Award to the best European Short Film as candidate at the European Film Awards
  • The Award of the International Federation of Cine Clubs

The main awards granted in this competition qualify the films for a short track to an Oscar selection, while the Best European Film award – for the European Film Award nomination.

National Competition

  • The Award of the President of the Polish Filmmakers Association for the best film editing.
  • The Award for the best short and documentary films producer in Poland funded by the Polish Producers Alliance (KIPA) ATM Group and FDR Studio.
  • Best Cinematography Award under the patronage of The Polish Society of Cinematographers funded by Cinelight.
  • Maciej Szumowski Award for remarkable social awareness under the patronage of ZAIKS.
  • The Award of of the Wrocław Feature Film Studio for the best feature film debut.

Competitions

  • Student Jury Award.
  • Audience Award funded by Magazyn Filmowy SFP.

Nominations and recommendations

Recommendation KFF to EFA

  • Krakow Film Festival recommendation to the European Film Award in the documentary film category.

Watch Docs nomination

  • Invitation to the programme of the 25th WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film International Film Festival, Warsaw, 5 – 14 Dec, 2025. WATCH DOCS, one of the world’s largest human rights film festivals, has been nominated films from Krakow Film Festival competitions to be screened at WATCH DOCS

HER Docs Film Festival recommends

  • HER Docs is the only festival in Poland dedicated to documentary films made by women. Its aim is to support equality, not only in the film industry. Every year, the representatives of the festival recommend a film that was made by a woman director and which tells her(story) in a unique way.

PAH recommends

  • PAH Polish Humanitarian Action is a public benefit organisation with over 30 years of experience. It provides assistance where support is most needed, especially to the most vulnerable groups, such as women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities and internally displaced people.

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