The winner of Cannes Un Certain Regard, the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay from Berlinale, a Swiss debut about love in the black metal scene, a Slovak documentary about people on the front line of climate change, a mystery drama from the borderlands of the České středohoří hills, a Polish tragicomedy with three awards from Gdynia, a Romanian black comedy in the style of Wes Anderson, and a North Macedonian debut about the silence after an incident — eight films nominated for the FIPRESCI Prize at the 32nd IFF Art Film Košice (19 – 25 June 2026) will be assessed by a trio of international film critics.
The Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) will be awarded in Košice by French journalist and film critic Pierre-Yves Roger, Dutch film journalist Clementine van Wijngaarden and Slovak film publicist and editor-in-chief of the Filmsk.sk portal Matúš Kvasnička. Over the seven festival days, the jury will watch a selection of films from the International Competition of Feature Films, the International Competition of Central and Eastern European Films and the In the Light of Shadows section.
Wirbel – the mystery drama by debutant Tomáš Hubáček opens the festival
Director: Tomáš Hubáček / Czech Republic, Slovakia / 2026 / 96 min. / feature film
Screening: 19 June (Fri) 19:30, Kunsthalle – opening ceremony
This mystery drama is the feature debut of director and screenwriter Tomáš Hubáček. It offers a hypnotic story about the power of the landscape, forgotten folk wisdom and the search for a lost direction. Set at the end of summer in the remote borderlands and rolling fields of the České středohoří hills, Martin unexpectedly inherits a dilapidated house in an isolated spot. Although he initially wants to give up the troublesome inheritance, his plans are disrupted by a strange encounter with the mysterious Agnes. With the help of an old map, he discovers that his house is part of a forgotten landscape composition built over centuries. When, after a series of tremors, water disappears from the wells, the fields stop bearing crops and an ancient danger hidden in the soil comes back to life, Martin realises that Agnes is fatefully bound to this land and is in mortal danger. To save her, the land and himself, he must restore the lost memory of this mysterious place. The cast features David Švehlík, Judit Pecháček, Martin Finger, Milan Mikulčík, Alexej Pyško, Markéta Coufalová, Marie Švestková and Philipp Schenker.
Made in EU – the story of the first Covid case in a Bulgarian textile factory, from Venice
Director: Stefan Komandarev / Bulgaria, Germany, Czech Republic / 2025 / 108 min.
Screening: 20 June (Sat) 16:00, Kulturpark JOJ Cinema
When 43-year-old Iva, a worker at a textile factory, goes to the doctor with supposed flu symptoms, she is told to return to work. There, however, she collapses, and after being taken to hospital it turns out she has Covid. The local media accuse her of bringing the infection into the town — even though she never left it. Suddenly everyone turns against her in a shocking way. She has trouble doing her shopping and even faces physical attacks. The whole affair opens up a view of the social conditions in the factory: its owner is the ruthless Mancini, a textbook figure from the era of unbridled capitalism without rules and with an exploitative attitude towards employees. Another layer of the narrative is equally important — a study of the behaviour of those around her, the so-called emotional contagion and hysteria accompanying the global pandemic. The film had its world premiere at the Venice IFF in the competitive Orizzonti section and won the Golden Rose for Best Film at the Bulgarian Feature Film Festival. Starring Gergana Pletnyova, Todor Kotzev, Gerasim Georgiev, Ivaylo Hristov, Anastasia Ingilizova and Ivan Barnev.
We Have to Survive – Tomáš Krupa’s Slovak documentary from five continents about the climate crisis
Director: Tomáš Krupa / Slovakia, France, Austria / 2026 / 102 min. / documentary
Screening: 20 June (Sat) 19:00, Kunsthalle
A cinematic tale about people trying to live in harmony with nature at a time of sharp social and natural change takes us to the Outer Banks archipelago in the USA, where houses stand on the shore and their inhabitants struggle with the ocean’s waves; to the Mongolian desert, where a family determined to resist the harsh conditions plants trees, retains moisture and turns the area into a green oasis; to Coober Pedy in Australia, where the heat has driven residents into underground caves, where they live, work and pray in an underground church; and to Greenland, whose inhabitants also grapple with change — warming makes the ice thinner, and dog sleds become unnecessary, replaced by motorboats.
“Every scene is an image of human resilience, a reminder that despite distance and difference we are connected by shared roots, one sky and one fragile planet. This is not a film about despair, but about courage. It is a call to realise that our greatest strength lies in caring for one another and for our only home,” the filmmakers say of their film.
Wolves – Jonas Ulrich’s Swiss debut about love in the black metal scene
Director: Jonas Ulrich / Switzerland / 2025 / 97 min. / feature film
Screening: 21 June (Sun) 14:30, Kunsthalle
Twenty-three-year-old Luana feels trapped in the monotony of everyday life, frustrated by her family, by society and by her grinding job at a nursery. She surprisingly finds an escape from her monotonous existence — and the longed-for sense of belonging — in the harsh world of the local black metal scene. When she joins her cousin’s band on tour as a social media manager, she immediately succumbs to the wild energy of the stage and the charisma of the new frontman, Wiktor. Life on the road full of cheap hostels and endless rehearsals is quickly interspersed with a passionate affair. But the blind love begins to crack the moment the singer’s controversial photographs and radical views become public. As the band, under the pressure of accusations of extremism, finds itself on the verge of breaking up, Luana refuses to see the truth and is unwilling to give Wiktor up. Director Jonas Ulrich’s authentic Swiss debut is a chilling study of a toxic relationship and the search for one’s own identity, in which Polish star Bartosz Bielenia excels. Starring Selma Kopp, Bartosz Bielenia, Judith Hofmann, Fabian Künzli and others. Slovak distributor: Film Europe.
Altar Boys – Domalewski’s tragicomedy with three awards from Gdynia
Director: Piotr Domalewski / Poland / 2025 / 110 min. / feature film
Screening: 21 June (Sun) 19:00, Kulturpark JOJ Cinema
A small Polish town and four friends who serve as altar boys in the local church and who do not have it easy in life. Filip’s mother is sinking into depression and indulges in alcohol; Gucci’s parents are busy amassing wealth and have no time left for their son. One day, while cleaning the church, they hide in the confessional and inadvertently overhear several intimate confessions. Later they witness the embezzlement of donations that end up in the pocket of one of the priests. They decide to do good and ensure a fair distribution of the money. They install a camera in the confessional to keep track of who would best benefit from help. Wearing masks, they hand out envelopes to chosen people with a note about the church’s assistance. The radical action, however, triggers a chain of dramatic events that expose social hypocrisy and moral passivity, but also courage and the determination not to yield to evil and injustice. At the Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdynia, the film won the top Golden Lions award, the Best Screenplay award and the Audience Award. Starring Tobiasz Wajda, Bruno Błach-Baar, Mikołaj Juszczyk, Filip Juszczyk and Daria Kalinchuk.
Nina Roza – Silver Bear for Best Screenplay from this year’s Berlinale
Director: Geneviève Dulude-De Celles / Canada, Italy, Bulgaria, Belgium / 2026 / 103 min. / feature film
Screening: 22 June (Mon) 13:00, Kulturpark JOJ Cinema
Bulgarian émigré Mihail lives in Montreal and works at a gallery whose owner finds online the paintings of Nina Sotirova, a miraculously gifted little girl from the Bulgarian village of Karlievo. He sends Mihail to visit her and find out whether it is a fraud. Mihail’s daughter Roza has just moved in with her son after a failed relationship, so he is reluctant to travel, but eventually agrees. After thirty years he thus returns to Bulgaria, where he tries to come to terms with the past and reconcile with his family. His sister does not exactly welcome the unexpected guest with enthusiasm, reproaching him for his persistent silence and indifference. Nina is indeed endowed with great talent, which has also been spotted by the Italian gallerist Giulia Mancini. She wants to move Nina and her mother to Italy so that Nina can study there, but the girl fiercely resists and would rather burn her paintings. How well does Mihail understand her? The film won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at this year’s Berlinale. Starring Galin Stoev, Ekaterina Stanina, Sofia Stanina, Chiara Caselli, Michelle Tzontchev, Christian Bégin and Nikolay Mutafchiev.
Everytime – winner of Cannes Un Certain Regard 2026
Director: Sandra Wollner / Germany, Austria / 2026 / 121 min. / feature film
Screening: 22 June (Mon) 15:00, Kunsthalle
After the death of her elder daughter, Ella sets off to Tenerife together with her younger daughter and the boy accused of the tragic death. A journey that was meant to be an escape turns into an enclosed space in which the past remains ‘forever’ present, and everyone involved must confront grief, guilt and the need for forgiveness. Everytime is built from long, hypnotic shots and a use of light that carries an almost metaphysical meaning. The Tenerife sun acts not merely as a backdrop, but as a force that simultaneously reveals and consumes the characters. On the scorching island, the boundaries between past and present, between memory and the desire to summon back what has already vanished, begin to dissolve imperceptibly among the characters. Austrian director Sandra Wollner creates a precise and disturbingly beautiful portrait of people trying to live in the present even as their minds remain trapped in the past. The film won the top prize of the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes IFF 2026. Starring Birgit Minichmayr, Lotte Shirin Keiling, Tristán López and Carla Hüttermann.
17 – Kosara Mitić’s Macedonian debut from the Berlinale Perspectives section
Director: Kosara Mitić / North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia / 2026 / 105 min. / feature film
Screening: 23 June (Tue) 13:00, Kulturpark JOJ Cinema
The feature debut of director Kosara Mitić tells the story of 17-year-old Sara, who hides a great personal secret. On a school trip to Greece, relations among the classmates come to a head after an event that disrupts the apparent dullness of the trip and reveals how quickly collective dynamics among teenagers change when there is no intervention from authority figures. The main emphasis is on aggression, dominance and silent complicity — on what is left unsaid, unreported and gradually normalised. At the same time, however, female solidarity is highlighted as a fragile yet essential voice against a system that fails to protect the individual. Instead of explicit moralising, the film relies on realistic observation and emotional restraint, which paradoxically heightens its cruelty and disturbing effect even further, forcing the viewer to experience the story far more intensely and without distance. The film premiered in the Perspectives section at Berlinale 2026, where it was also among the debut works competing for the Best First Feature award. Starring Eva Kostić, Martina Danilovska, Dame Joveski, Eva Stojchevska and Petar Manic.
“The eight films placed on the table of the FIPRESCI jury are a sample of the strongest work that contemporary world cinema has to offer this year — from the winner of Cannes Un Certain Regard, through the Silver Bear from Berlinale, to directorial debuts from Switzerland and North Macedonia. Slovakia will be represented by two promising titles. Precisely because the FIPRESCI Prize is awarded to films included in several sections, the jury gets the chance to compare authorial signatures from different contexts — and it opens up space for audiences to look at the festival programme through the eyes of international criticism,” explains IFF Art Film artistic director Martin Palúch.
At the 32nd IFF Art Film, the FIPRESCI Prize will be announced at the closing ceremony on Saturday, 25 June 2026. Visitors can find the full festival programme, tickets and cinepasses at aff.cinepass.sk.
The 32nd IFF ART FILM is taking place with 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
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, Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze – ČSFD, Filmsk.sk, BigMedia, Kino Sterio, Košice City Guide, Košice V Skratke, MOJAkultura.sk, diva.sk, koktejl.sk, zenskyweb.sk
Partners: JOJ Cinema, Jojko, Slovenský filmový ústav, DDDental, CK TUI ReiseCenter Slovensko, Taper, ECO Technologies, Aupark Shopping Center Košice, Letisko Košice, Rent2Eat, CPK Transport, iWish.sk, Kvety Garomi, Hair Factory Košice, Panta Rhei, LOCAL NOMAD, MIHYRING
Gastronomy partners: Pub u Kohúta, OhniskO Fire Dining & Brew Bar, MAIKO SUSHI, Kaviareň Slávia, El Nacional, Tabačka Kulturfabrik, Casa Trade – Casablanca cafe, Macarons Košice, Savour Patisserie
