The 31st edition of the International Film Festival Art Film, held in Košice, will feature the prestigious FIPRESCI jury—representing the International Federation of Film Critics. The jury will evaluate a curated selection of titles from the International Feature Film Competition, the Competition of Films from Central and Eastern Europe, and the Slovak Season section. It will present its own award, the Blue Angel / FIPRESCI Prize, to a film demonstrating exceptional creative vision and artistic merit.
Among the films in competition are three titles from the International Feature Film Competition. Toxicity, the debut of Lithuanian director Saulė Bliuvaitė, tells the story of thirteen-year-old Maria, who enrolls in a modeling school to escape the bleak reality of her industrial hometown. Instead of the dream life she envisioned, she confronts harsh standards of feminine beauty. Slovak director Alexandra Makarová’s Perla follows a painter returning from exile in Vienna to Czechoslovakia in 1981 to confront unfinished personal history. Her journey to Košice becomes a collision of past and present—and a test of identity across the Iron Curtain. The North Macedonian film DJ Ahmet by Georgi M. Unkovski is a raw yet socially sharp dramedy about a teenage boy from a shepherd village who seeks freedom and love through electronic music. The film was acclaimed by both audiences and juries at Sundance.
Also competing for the FIPRESCI Prize are three films from the Competition of Films from Central and Eastern Europe. Polish debut This Is Not My Film by Maria Zbąska centers on a married couple attempting to save their relationship through an unconventional 400-kilometer winter pilgrimage along the Baltic Sea coast. Their journey becomes a poignant reflection on misunderstanding and the quest to find a shared rhythm in life. Chronicle by Slovak photographer and director Martin Kollar is a visually refined film essay observing landscape, people, and the passage of time. With subtle irony and melancholy, it explores the relationship between people and the spaces they inhabit. Ukrainian director Zhanna Ozirna’s Honeymood offers an intimate view of war’s onset through the story of a young couple trapped in their apartment. Eschewing epic battle scenes, the film focuses on psychological tension and the life-and-death weight of everyday decisions in times of crisis.
In the Slovak Season section, two feature-length films are under consideration. Chronicle of Eternal Dreamers, loosely inspired by Božena Slančíková Timrava’s novella Ťapákovci, blends magical realism, folkloric grotesque, and social allegory. The story of passive brothers living between the worlds of the living and the dead offers an original lens on Slovak mentality—where love transcends even the borders of the afterlife. In Shadow of Victory, Norwegian director Bård Breien (with Slovak co-production) tells a dramatic story of the rise and fall of boxing legend Magne Havnå. The film explores the bond between two brothers united by their passion for sport in a sweeping drama that examines the cost of success—even at the expense of family.
The presence of the FIPRESCI jury underscores the growing international stature of the IFF Art Film and adds an expert critical perspective to its evaluation of contemporary cinema. This year’s jury members include British film theorist Jonathan Murray, Slovak poet and film scholar Mária Ferenčuhová, and Swiss critic Malik Berkati. IFF Art Film remains the only festival in Slovakia to host the FIPRESCI jury and present this prestigious award.
The 31st edition of IFF ART FILM is made possible thanks to the support of:
Organizer: ART FILM FEST s.r.o.;
Co-organizers: City of Košice, K13 – Košice Cultural Centres, Visit Košice, ART FILM FEST n.o., LGM s.r.o., FORLIVE;
Financial Supporters: Audiovisual Fund and the SPP Foundation
The festival is co-financed by the Košice Self-Governing Region through the Terra Incognita program;
Main Partners: National Lottery Company TIPOS, Slovenská elektrizačná prenosová sústava, a.s., CODES Brand House;
Main Media Partners: TV JOJ, Pravda, Eurotelevízia;
Automotive Partner: Moris Slovakia
Advertising Partners: Best Press, U. S. Steel Košice, ANTIK telecom, Kino Úsmev, LOKO TRANS Media, CORE Labs, Technical University of Košice;
Technology Partners: NOV, ZEBRA, Deutsche Telekom Systems Solutions Slovakia, T4H, LEDGO, DELTA OnLine, ARICOMA, TelekomCLOUD;
Official Suppliers: DKC Veritas, Kaviareň Slávia, PLOOM, Krušovice BOHÉM, Lucka spring water, DOMOS SLOVAKIA, Restaurant Contessa, Aupark Shopping Center Košice, Pierre Baguette, Julius Meinl, Red Fox Golf Club;
Official Wines: Kubbo Select and Ostrožovič;
Media Partners: JOJ play, JOJ 24, Film Europe, Rádio KOŠICE, Aktuality.sk, Forbes, Startitup.sk, Korzár, Slovenka, SITA, TASR, Mediaboard, See & Go, ČSFD, BigMedia, Košice City Guide, Košice v skratke, Film.sk, diva.sk, koktejl.sk, zenskyweb.sk, MOJAkultúra, kino Sterio, Košice City Transport Company, AHOJ TV;
Partners: JOJ Cinema, Jojko, Embassy of India in Bratislava, Carmeuse Slovakia, DDDental, TINY Houses, ECO Technologies, Košice Airport, Local Nomad Tours, Slovak Film Institute, Taper, YumEarth, Puella Scents, Kvety Garomi, čLOVEčina board game, Austrian Cultural Forum, TESCO Store SK, CPK Transport, Tabačka Kulturfabrik, King Media, East Slovak Museum in Košice, Summer Film School, KPK Reklama, MIHYRING, Zoberma Taxi, Hair Factory Košice;
Gastronomy Partners: Pub u Kohúta, El Nacional, OhniskO Fire Dining & Brew Bar, Maiko Sushi, Macarons Košice, Café de Paris, šum Wine Bar, Casa Trade – Casablanca Café, TATRATEA, Moritz Eis.
