A Silver Bear from Berlin for Best Screenplay, a black comedy in the style of Wes Anderson, a Ukrainian pacifist community in the midst of war, a Polish tragicomedy crowned with the Golden Lions from Gdynia, a Slovak documentary and a Hungarian documentary with Slovak resonance — three of the eight titles are nominated for the FIPRESCI Prize. The International Competition of Central and Eastern European Films brings to the 32nd edition of IFF Art Film (19 – 25 June 2026 in Košice) eight films that map the transformations of our region – and compete for the Blue Angel.
The festival’s youngest competition section, established in 2024, offers space to filmmakers from the countries of the former Eastern Bloc without genre limitations – from documentary through black comedy to surreal drama.
Films in competition
A Bulgarian emigrant returns home after thirty years to assess the paintings of a miraculously gifted girl – and is confronted with his family and himself. Nina Roza by Geneviève Dulude-De Celles won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at this year’s Berlinale.
Screenings: 22 June at 1:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema · 25 June at 4:30 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Play
A commission arrives in a Romanian village to investigate why everyone is drawing disability benefits – but this is not a story about fraud, but about ingenuity. The black comedy Catane by Ioana Mischie has been compared by Variety to films in the style of Wes Anderson.
Screenings: 20 June at 1:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema · 21 June at 11:30 a.m., Kino Úsmev
A textile factory worker collapses, discovers she has Covid – and the whole town turns against her. Made in EU by Stefan Komandarev, a film about the emotional contagion of the pandemic, premiered in the Orizzonti section in Venice. Nominated for the FIPRESCI Prize.
Screenings: 20 June at 4:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema · 24 June at 2:30 p.m., Kino Úsmev
Four altar boys eavesdrop on the confessional and decide to deliver justice on their own. The tragicomedy Altar Boys (Miništranti) by Piotr Domalewski won the Golden Lions and the Audience Award in Gdynia. Nominated for the FIPRESCI Prize.
Screenings: 21 June at 7:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema · 24 June at 5:00 p.m., Kino Veritas
At the first screening (21 June), introduction and discussion: Piotr Domalewski (director), with EN ↔ SK interpretation.
A forgotten actor receives a bizarre offer and the role begins to unexpectedly consume him. Supporting Role (Vedľajšia úloha) by Ana Urushadze won the Special Jury Award and the FIPRESCI Prize in Rotterdam.
Screenings: 22 June at 4:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema · 25 June at 1:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema
A Baptist pacifist community in western Ukraine sends a convoy of aid in the midst of war. The documentary Silent Flood (Tichá povodeň) by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk won the Best Cinematography Award at IDFA in Amsterdam, and in early June 2026 took home the Silver Horn for outstanding artistic contribution at the Krakow Film Festival.
Screenings: 21 June at 1:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema · 23 June at 10:30 a.m., Kulturpark JOJ Play
Lea Podhradská searches for her sister, who disappeared when she was eight years old. The personal documentary My Father’s Daughter — about the truth that everyone tells differently — will have its Slovak premiere at Art Film.
Screenings: 21 June at 4:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema · 24 June at 11:00 a.m., Kino Veritas
At the first screening (21 June), introduction and discussion: Lea Podhradská (director), Krisztián Ollári (cinematographer).
Tomáš Krupa filmed on four continents the people who live on the front line of climate change. We Have to Survive is not a film about despair, but about courage. Nominated for the FIPRESCI Prize.
Screenings: 20 June at 7:00 p.m., Kunsthalle · 22 June at 11:00 a.m., Kino Veritas
At both screenings, introduction and discussion: Tomáš Krupa (director), Ondřej Szollos (cinematographer), Peter Kudlička (editor), Dalibor Kocián (music composer).
Jury
The jury is formed by three personalities who connect the Afghan, Central Asian and Central European film traditions. Siddiq Barmak is an Afghan director whose film Osama won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Gulnara Abikeyeva is a Kazakh film historian and a leading expert on Central Asian cinema, the author of more than ten books. Ewa Hanna Mazierska is a Polish-British professor of film studies and the author of more than thirty monographs on Eastern European cinema. Both Barmak and Abikeyeva studied at the same school – the Moscow VGIK.
The complete programme and festival cinepasses are available at aff.cinepass.sk.
The 32nd IFF ART FILM is made possible thanks to the support of:
Main organizer: ART FILM FEST s.r.o.
Co-organizers: Mesto Košice, K13 – Košické kultúrne centrá, Visit Košice, ART FILM FEST, n.o.
With the financial support of: Audiovizuálny fond
The project was co-financed by the Košice Self-governing Region from the Terra Incognita program
Main partners: CODES Brand House, H2O FUND SICAV
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, Technická univerzita v Košiciach
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, Slovenský filmový ústav, WITKOWITZ SLOVAKIA, DDDental, CK TUI ReiseCenter Slovensko, Taper, ECO Technologies, Aupark Shopping Center Košice, Dopravný podnik mesta Košice, Letisko Košice, YumEarth, Rent2Eat, CPK Transport, iWish.sk, Kvety Garomi, Hair Factory Košice, Face up! Studio by Michaela Petroci, Panta Rhei, ARTFORUM, LOCAL NOMAD, Východoslovenské múzeum v Košiciach, MIHYRING
Gastronomic partners: Pub u Kohúta, OhniskO Fire Dining & Brew Bar, MAIKO SUSHI, Kaviareň Slávia, El Nacional, Tabačka Kulturfabrik, Casa Trade – Casablanca cafe, La Hacienda, Red Velvet Cake Bar, Macarons Košice, Savour Patisserie
