The 32nd edition of the IFF Art Film international film festival opened on Friday, 19 June 2026 with a ceremony at Kunsthalle Košice. Until Thursday, 25 June, audiences can look forward to 128 films across ten sections — 73 feature films, 51 short films and 4 new TV series. Three honorary awards found their laureates during the opening night: the Actor’s Mission Award for outstanding contribution to acting was received by Anna Šišková, the Golden Camera Award for outstanding contribution to cinema went to Slovak Film Institute director general Peter Dubecký, and the Milan Lasica Award in memoriam will go to the icon of Slovak film acting Vlado (full name Vladislav) Müller, who was born ninety years ago and the thirtieth anniversary of whose passing falls on Saturday, 20 June. As is tradition, the host of the opening night at Kunsthalle Košice was Bruno Ciberej.
“For the Košice Self-governing Region, film is a powerful driver of regional development that connects culture, creativity and the economy. We systematically support the audiovisual industry through the Košice Region Film Office and the Terra Incognita programme. Over the past four years we have backed nearly 30 film projects that brought more than EUR 6 million to the region, hundreds of shooting days and engaged over 650 film professionals. We are creating stable conditions for filmmakers, whether in the form of rebates or direct grants, and we are also connecting the community through new formats such as Filmovacie večery (Film Nights), which open doors to new talent. The presence of the Košice Region Film Office at IFF Art Film confirms that film production is not a guest here, but is at home,” said the Chairman of the Košice Self-governing Region Rastislav Trnka.
He was followed by the Mayor of Košice Jaroslav Polaček, who took the audience on a historical excursion to December 1896, when, just a few months after the Lumière Brothers showed the world the first cinematograph, the citizens of Košice gathered in the hall of the Schalkhás Hotel to watch moving pictures. The gramophone screeched on that occasion, the audience left disappointed and a second screening never took place. Even so, it was the very first public film screening on the territory of Slovakia. “It may have been a bad start, but a good ending. The 32nd Art Film — welcome to an event that writes Slovak film history, and we have been doing it in Košice for ten years. Enjoy the films, the royal city and the whole accompanying programme. I am glad we can spend a beautiful week together in Košice,” Jaroslav Polaček said.
The Milan Lasica Award has been given in memoriam since 2025 to outstanding acting personalities of Slovak cinema, usually on the occasion of an unrealised anniversary. This year’s laureate is the icon of Slovak film acting Vladislav (Vlado) Müller — unforgettable in films such as Obžalovaný, Medená veža, Orlie pierko or Signum laudis. He was born ninety years ago and Saturday, 20 June marks thirty years from the moment he left this world. The award will be received on his behalf by his son, singer and lyricist Richard Müller, from the hands of Magda Vášáryová on Sunday evening at the Historic Town Hall. From his father’s rich filmography, Richard personally selected the drama Smrť šitá na mieru for the festival programme. Fans will also be able to meet Richard during the Sunday special edition of the talk show Dinner with Havran at the Historic Town Hall.
In 2001, the ART FILM international film festival began to honour, alongside actors, domestic and international film professionals of various crafts for their outstanding contribution to cinema with the Golden Camera Award. This year’s first laureate was announced by a director, screenwriter and producer whose films provoked the former regime; after its fall he laid the foundations of the Febio film and TV production company. He himself received the President’s Award of ART FILM in 2018 and the distance from his birthplace in Nižná Šebastová to Košice is just over 30 kilometres — Fero Fenič. The Golden Camera was received from his hands by Peter Dubecký, director general of the Slovak Film Institute and honorary chairman of the Association of Slovak Film Clubs. “I have loved film since I was three or four years old, when my father used to project films and I helped him. It stayed in the family. I deeply value this award. I have a mandate at the Slovak Film Institute for another year and a half, so I will try to do as much as I can for culture, which is really not in good shape these days,” Peter Dubecký said after receiving the award.
The Actor’s Mission Award is dedicated to acting personalities for their outstanding contribution to acting in film. This year’s laureate was announced by film and theatre actress Jitka Schneiderová. “For nineteen years we have been performing together on stage. And for nineteen years I have looked forward to every performance, knowing you would come over the hills so we could play together. You are not only a fantastic actress, you are above all a wonderful woman. You are actually that character from the film Divided We Fall — strong in character, brave, kind and loving,” Jitka Schneiderová said before handing the award to Anna Šišková.
In her acceptance speech, Anna Šišková thanked the festival and everyone behind it. She recalled her childhood in Terchová, where the village cinema only screened once a week, her first film experience — Amphibian Man — and the path to her vocation, which was not a straight one. She was not accepted at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava due to her brother’s emigration; she went through the Faculty of Education in Trnava and ended up as a trainee at the Jonáš Záborský Theatre in Prešov, from where she never returned to teaching. “Making the world a better place — that is what I consider an actor’s mission. Art Film is a place where we connect through film on the most human level. I believe this festival will have many more successful editions and strong financial support,” Anna Šišková concluded. Her daughters Tereza and Dorota Nvota came to the opening ceremony to support her. Tereza Nvota directed her mother in the film Špina (Filthy). The actress will receive the Actor’s Mission Award also in front of the public, on Saturday 20 June at 11:00 at Kulturpark, and will pose on the iconic festival chair.
Before the screening of the opening film, the floor was taken by the festival’s artistic director Martin Palúch. “We have really selected unique films — from Cannes, Sundance and also from Central and Eastern Europe. We have plenty to be proud of. The exclusivity, the acting personalities and the new directorial approaches are truly original. And since we support Slovak film and always try to find a domestic title that can stand alongside the international ones, this time you will see a brand-new Czech-Slovak debut by director Tomáš Hubáček, Wirbel, which competes both in the feature film competition and in the FIPRESCI critics’ competition,” Martin Palúch said. The whole creative team of this year’s IFF Art Film opening film then came in front of the screen: director Tomáš Hubáček, producers Marek Urban and Ján Macola, cinematographer Alan Soural, sound designer Tobias Potočný and actress Judit Pecháček.
IFF Art Film 2026 continues in Košice until Thursday, 25 June 2026.
The 32nd IFF ART FILM is being held with the support of:
Main organizer: ART FILM FEST s.r.o.
Co-organizers: City of Košice, K13 – Košice Cultural Centres, Visit Košice, ART FILM FEST, n.o.
With the financial support of: the Slovak Audiovisual Fund
The project was co-financed by the Košice Self-governing Region from the Terra Incognita program
Main partners: CODES Brand House, H2O FUND SICAV, Forstav
Automotive partner: AUTO-VALAS
Official hotel: Hotel Yasmin
Main media partners: TV JOJ, Pravda, Eurotelevízia
Sponsors: U. S. Steel Košice, ANTIK Telecom, Kino Úsmev, LOKO TRANS Media, CORE Labs, Technical University of Košice
Technological partners: NOV, ZEBRA, Deutsche Telekom Systems Solutions Slovakia, DELTA OnLine, ARICOMA, Datacomp
Official suppliers: DKC Veritas, PLOOM, DOMOS SLOVAKIA, Reštaurácia Contessa, Natura, Kinley, Budweiser Budvar, Julius Meinl
Official wine: KubBo Select, Ostrožovič
Media partners: JOJ play, JOJ 24, Film Europe Media Company, Rádio KOŠICE, Aktuality.sk, Forbes, Startitup.sk, Korzár, Slovenka, SITA, TASR, Mediaboard, AHOJ TV, See & Go, BigMedia, Kino Sterio, Košice City Guide, Košice V Skratke, MOJAkultura.sk, Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze – ČSFD, Filmsk.sk, diva.sk, koktejl.sk, zenskyweb.sk, Naše Košice
Partners: JOJ Cinema, Jojko, Slovak Film Institute, WITKOWITZ SLOVAKIA, DDDental, CK TUI ReiseCenter Slovensko, Taper, ECO Technologies, Aupark Shopping Center Košice, Košice Public Transport Company, Košice Airport, YumEarth, Rent2Eat, CPK Transport, iWish.sk, Kvety Garomi, Hair Factory Košice, Face up! Studio by Michaela Petroci, Panta Rhei, ARTFORUM, LOCAL NOMAD, East-Slovak Museum in Košice, MIHYRING
