Kristen Stewart behind the camera for the first time, Juliette Binoche in a Berlin-awarded drama, winners of the Cannes parallel sections Un Certain Regard and La Semaine de la critique, and a Czech-Slovak debut that will open the festival. The International Feature Film Competition of the 32nd IFF Art Film (19 – 25 June 2026 in Košice) brings together eight films from around the world that will vie for four Blue Angels – Best Film, Best Director, and Best Female and Male Acting Performance.
The festival’s most watched competition section presents the strongest of current world cinema – debuts as well as mature works honoured in Cannes, Venice and Berlin. As the only one of the festival’s four competitions, it awards as many as four Blue Angels.
Films in competition
Actress Kristen Stewart steps behind the camera for the first time. Her directorial debut The Chronology of Water, which world-premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, is a raw confession of a woman fleeing a violent home and finding her salvation first in water and ultimately in writing.
Screenings: 22 June at 11:30 a.m., Kunsthalle · 24 June at 7:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema
Juliette Binoche stars in Queen at Sea as a daughter returning to her mother with advanced dementia. The harsh family drama by Lance Hammer, compared to Haneke’s Amour, was awarded the Silver Bear – Jury Prize at Berlinale 2026.
Screenings: 20 June at 2:00 p.m., Kunsthalle · 23 June at 4:30 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Play
After the death of her older daughter, a mother leaves with her younger daughter and the boy she blames for the tragedy, heading to Tenerife. Sandra Wollner’s hypnotic drama Everytime on grief and guilt won the top prize of the Cannes Un Certain Regard 2026.
Screenings: 22 June at 3:00 p.m., Kunsthalle · 25 June at 2:00 p.m., Kino Veritas
Five intertwined fates in a besieged city where tragedy mingles with black humour – Chronicles from the Siege by Palestinian-Syrian director Abdallah Al-Khatib won the Best Debut Feature award at Berlinale 2026.
Screenings: 21 June at 11:30 a.m., Kunsthalle · 24 June at 1:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema
A school trip to Pompeii, where the line between adolescence, desire and violence dissolves among the ruins. Marine Atlan’s sensuous film La Gradiva won the top prize of the Cannes parallel section La Semaine de la critique (Critics’ Week).
Screenings: 21 June at 5:30 p.m., Kunsthalle · 24 June at 2:00 p.m., Kino Veritas
Seventeen-year-old Isabel carries golf balls at a course in the Philippines – and beneath the polished surface of luxury reveals violence. Rafael Manuel’s debut Filipiñana premiered at Sundance and Berlinale.
Screenings: 20 June at 11:30 a.m., Kunsthalle · 24 June at 4:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema
Twenty-three-year-old Luana finds escape in the harsh world of the black metal scene and in the charisma of a frontman whose past, however, catches up with her. In the Swiss debut Wolves by Jonas Ulrich, the Polish star Bartosz Bielenia excels in the leading role.
Screenings: 21 June at 2:30 p.m., Kunsthalle · 22 June at 7:00 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Cinema
The festival will finally open with the Czech-Slovak debut Wirbel by Tomáš Hubáček – a man inherits a house in solitude and with it a secret of the land that remembers more than we do.
Screening: 21 June at 7:30 p.m., Kulturpark JOJ Play
Jury
The four Blue Angels will be decided by a trio coming from different corners of the film world. Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson is an Icelandic director whose debut saw a Hollywood remake (Prince Avalanche) and whose film Under the Tree competed in the Venice Orizzonti section. Barbora Námerová is a Slovak screenwriter and dramaturge, co-author of the screenplays for Filth and Nightsiren (Golden Leopard in Locarno). Géza Csákvári is a Hungarian film critic and longtime artistic director of the CineFest Miskolc festival. The jury thus spans the entire chain – from filmmaking through screenwriting to critical reflection.
The full 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, 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
