Organisers of the Krakow FF have opened the call for international submissions for the festival’s 66th edition, running May 31 to June 7 2026.
Approximately 200 titles will be selected. These will be documentary films of 50 minutes or longer, and short films (up to 30 minutes) from around the globe. Submissions are welcomed for four competitions: International Documentary, Short Film, DocFilmMusic and National Competition. These will be accepted within three phases: until 30th November 2025 for films completed before 31st October 2025 (for both international and Polish films), until 31st January 2026 for international films completed after 31st October 2025, and 15th February 2026 for Polish films completed after 31st October 2025. The festival also presents several thematic sections.
Submitted films will compete for the Golden Hobby-Horses (for films in National Competition), the Golden Dragons (for films selected for the international Short Film Competition), the Golden Horns (for titles in International Documentary Competition) and the Golden Heynal (for DocFilmMusic competition).
“We’re looking for powerful, professional films with a distinctive voice,” writes incoming new artistic director Anita Piotrowska. “We aim to honour the finest traditions of the Krakow Film Festival, so we’re particularly interested in documentaries and short forms that make bold artistic statements and offer meaningful insights about ourselves or the world around us.”
All competing films will be making their Polish debut at the festival, with many enjoying their world and international premieres.
In 2025, Child of Dust by Weronika Mliczewska and Silver by Natalia Koniarz were the big winners in Krakow. Child of Dust won the Golden Horn in International Competition and shared the Golden Hobby-Horse in National Competition (with Wojciech Staroń for The Passion of Agnieszka). Silver meanwhile won a Silver Horn for its artistic merit, the FIPRESCI prize, the Audience prize and the Maciej Szumowski Award for social awareness, while its producer Maciej Kubicki (TELEMARK) received the award for best producer of a Polish documentary.
