ART FILM IFF is the oldest and greatest film festival in Slovakia. ART FILM represents diversity and spontaneous audience attendance.

The ART FILM IFF offers an extensive space for the presentation of works of the latest world cinema, as well as important titles of film history and, last but not least, a quality selection of films from the Slovak audiovisual environment. The program is dominated by the following competition sections:

for feature films
for short titles
for feature, documentary and animated films from the region of Central and Eastern Europe

The best full-length feature film is going to be awarded the Blue Angel – in 2024, supplemented by a financial prize of EUR 2,000. Other awards are for the best director, actress and actor.

The Blue Angel which is awarded in the International Short Film Competition will be supplemented in 2024 with a financial award of EUR 500.

The Blue Angel will also be awarded to the winning film from the newly established International Competition of Films from Central and Eastern Europe, together with a financial award of EUR 1,500.

The non-competing sections present works by renown film makers, significant films of national film collections, famous films that have made an impact in the history of cinema, thematically focused film projects, as well as profiles or retrospectives of award-winning artists.

The permanent challenge for the organisers of the ART FILM IFF is to attract and excite Slovak art film viewers, to educate and nurture film fans and enthusiasts. The philosophy of the festival is spontaneous audience engagement, which is why it is interesting and attractive especially for students and young people. A great atmosphere, attractive program, stars and personalities and tens of thousands of visitors are the permanent features of the ART FILM IFF.

History

The ART FILM IFF has been held in the Slovak Republic since 1993. It first began to be held in Trenčianske Teplice, later also in Trenčín. Since 2016, it has continued in Košice.

Competition categories and awards

The Feature Film Competition is evaluated by a 5-member international panel, the Short Film Competition and the Central and Eastern European Film Competition by a 3-member international panel of judges. Experts from various film professions are nominated for all the panels.

International Competition of Feature Films over 60 minutes

Only feature films produced in the previous and current year are eligible to apply. The competition is especially for emerging film makers – only debuts and the second and third films of the director are eligible to apply.

International Competition of Short Films up to 30 minutes

The competition is not limited by genre – feature films, documentaries, cartoons are eligible to apply – they are limited only by their length in minutes.

International competition of films from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe

The competition is not limited by genre – fiction, documentary, animation and other films are eligible to apply. Eligible countries whose films can compete in this newly created section include: Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Albania and Armenia.

Blue Angel

Blue Angel for the Best Feature Film – awarded to a film producer
Blue Angel for the Best Director – awarded to a film director
Blue Angel for the Best Female Act – awarded to a film actress
Blue Angel for Best Male Act – awarded to a film actor
Blue Angel for the Best Short Film – awarded to a film director
Blue Angel for the Best Film from the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe – awarded to a film director

Actor’s Mission

Since 1995, the ART FILM IFF has annually awarded the Actor’s Mission Award to world-class actors for their outstanding contribution to the art of film acting. The award has been received by 71 international and domestic actors.

Golden Camera

The Golden Camera award honours domestic and foreign film professionals of various professions for their significant contribution to the field of cinema. Since 2001, as many as 47 outstanding personalities of cinema professions have been awarded.