The 32nd year of IFF Art Film Košice (June 19-25, 2026) will bring meetings that may not be repeated anytime soon. In this week, the city turns into a space where the routes of film Europe and authors who travel exceptionally intersect. The festival program is interspersed with several layers of guests: film laureates come with their own retrospectives, masterclasses and personally presented screenings; the international jury will meet the filmmakers directly in the halls; delegations of Slovak premieres will present their films to the audience, and live shows, concerts and meetings will take place in the Historic Town Hall, the Garden Cinema and the Kulturpark. Here is a guide to names for which it is worth buying a cinepass at IFF Art Film Košice.
Three prize winners, three meetings that do not have to be repeated
The highlight of the whole year is the personal visit of the German director Fatiha Akinawho will receive the Golden Camera Award in Košice for his significant contribution to the field of cinematography. Author of films Against the wall (Berlinale Golden Bear) and the latest Amrum Islands (Cannes 2025) belongs to the most prominent European directors of his generation. You will be able to meet him several times in Košice: at a masterclass within the Industry program, at personally presented screenings of both of his films and also at the closing ceremony, where he will receive the Golden Camera. For the moviegoer, this is the type of meeting that the Central European region has been waiting for for years.
The actor’s mission of the 32nd year is Anna Šišková — to the actress who has been in the strongest films of Slovak and Czech cinematography since the nineties: Dirt (directed by her daughter Tereza Nvotová), We have to help each other (Oscar nomination for best foreign language film), The garden, Escape to Budacurrently appearing in the series A promise. In Košice, on Friday, June 19, he will present the projection in person We have to help each other and on this day, the Herc mission will officially receive the award. However, fans can enjoy this award especially on Saturday, June 20, when he will receive it in front of the public in Kulturpark. Her daughters will also come to support the actress Tereza a Dorota Nvotová. The beginning of Art Film will thus bring two festival days, during which fans can meet the legend of the Slovak and Czech acting scene face to face.
As soon as Košice says goodbye to her, the second domestic icon arrives. He will take over on Sunday, June 21 Magda Vášaryová The Milan Lasica Award for his father Vlad Müller singer and lyricist Richard Müller — the author of dozens of songs known to every generation from the eighties to today. Fans can meet him during Sunday night’s special edition of the talk show Dinner with Raven in the Historic Town Hall, where he will be his guest.
Twelve judges, seven countries, four prizes
The four juries of the festival bring twelve film personalities from seven countries to Košice. About the Blue Angels in International feature film competition the Icelandic director will decide Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson — the author of the award-winning Icelandic tragicomedy Under the tree (Under the Tree) and the latest Northern Comfort; Slovak screenwriter and dramaturg Barbora Námerová; and a Hungarian film critic and festival dramaturg Géza Csákvári.
The most prominent name of the entire jury is Siddiq Barmakchairman of the jury International competition of films from Central and Eastern Europe. Afghan director, author of the film Osama — the first film shot in post-Taliban Afghanistan, which won the 2004 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and the Camera d’Or – Special Jury Mention at Cannes — has been showing very sparingly in Europe since its festival triumph. In addition to the meeting with him, the festival will re-screen the film itself for the Slovak audience Osamu. He is joined by a Kazakh film historian Gulnara Abikeyeva and a Polish-British professor of film studies Ewa Mazierska.
O International short film competition the Palestinian director will decide Mohammed Almughanni — born in Gaza, graduate of the prestigious Łódź Film School and author of a closely watched short drama Jaffa orange about a Palestinian youth crossing an Israeli checkpoint. In 2024, this drama received a Special Recognition from the IFF Art Film judges. His presence on the jury in today’s geopolitical context is a separate event. To him a Polish film historian Maciej Gil and Slovak documentary filmmaker Barbora Sliepková (Lines).
Fourth — FIPRESCI international jury — will award a separate critic’s prize and a French film critic will sit in the lineup Pierre-Yves Rogera Dutch critic Clementine van Wijngaarden and Slovak publicist Matúš Kvasnička.
Fans can meet the jurors during screenings of films that compete in individual competitions.
Slovak season: creators of the strongest domestic premieres
The opening film of the 32nd year — a mystery drama Vortex — will bring a director-debutant to Košice Tomáš Hubáček with the whole team (actress Judit Pecháčekcameraman Alan Souralthe producers Marek Urban a Ján Macolasound engineer Tobias Potočný). It will be screened immediately at the opening ceremony and the film is in the Feature Film Competition and also nominated for the FIPRESCI Award. The audience will not miss out on the experience either, the delegation has prepared an introduction to the film and a discussion after the film even during the screening for the public.
A really big delegation will also come to the world premiere Last season the director Pavle Hirjak. Actors will present the film in Košice Marko Igonda, Diana Semanova, Mária Miklošková, Juraj Stebila, Vanessa Weisz, Tadeáš Moravec, Mário Mačičák, Bronislava Kováčiková, František Beles a producent Vladimír Sabadoš.
A special visit was prepared by a wide-screen retro-funfair Kuko, Drobček and Raťafák intervene again in directing Andrej Kolenčík a Juraj Šlauka. Actors’ faces will come to the premiere and accompanying program Patrícia Jarjabková Garajová, Andrea Froncová, Margaréta Nosálova, Milan Prekop, Radomir Milićchild actors Boris Bacík, Emilia Širotníková, Dominika Horváthová and composer of music David Kollar. Anyone nostalgically expecting a film for children will be surprised.
Other Slovak guests of the 32nd IFF Art Film are the director Tomas Krupa with the documentary team We have to survive (cameraman Ondrej Szolloscutter Peter Kudličkacomposer Dalibor Kocián), Lucia Janičová with a British documentary filmmaker Paulom Diffleym to the document Everest: Mother Mountain and director Lea Podhradská with a cameraman My Christian Olláriom to the personal document My father’s daughter.
Foreign filmmakers: Domalewski, Andrš, Geisler and others
The most watched foreign author in the Central European competition is a Polish director Piotr Domalewskithe current holder of the Golden Lions from the 2025 Gdynia Festival — the most prestigious award in Polish cinematography, which he also won in 2017 for Silent night. He is coming to Košice with his latest film Ministerscrowned immediately after its Polish premiere, and will personally introduce it to the Slovak audience. For the Slovak viewer, it is an opportunity to meet the author, who is described by Polish critics as one of the strongest voices of his generation.
The short film competition will be strengthened by a Czech director Jindrich Andrs and a German director Leo Geislerwho will personally present their films. Female directors are dedicated to Slovak short films Emilia Ondriašová and producer Marianna Vadovicová with a short film This room cannot be eatenas well as an Iranian-Slovak director Haman Foulad Water with the film The man in white.
Live shows, music and culture from all sides
The historic town hall in Košice will be the scene of three evenings that are worth coming to even without a festival cinepass. Comedian Milan Kolcun will bring along with the publicist Peter Béreš special edition of the cult talk show Without the whisperer. You can look forward to the actor Marián Mitašpresenter, actor, director and screenwriter of the latest TV series JOJ Kočeny Andy Krausthe director of cult Slovak films Dušana Rapoš and festival program coordinator Magdalena Mezoughiwhich will bring you closer to the behind-the-scenes programming of films at the festival, communication with distributors, the selection of films for the program and many other interesting facts from festival practice. Glossary compilation of the favorite show SEVEN will come live with a columnist Marian Lešekstandup artists Matej Adamy, Michal Szatmary, Tomáš Hudák and moderator Elena Vacvalová. Third star — columnist Michal Havran — expands its format Dinner with Raven.
The musical highlight of the festival is the evening concert of the band Mike Parker Trio — the New York double bass player and composer, who today plays from Krakow for all of Europe from the Netherlands to the Baltics, will bring his contemporary jazz line-up to Košice. Not even a singer will miss the festival Christina Mantiswho will perform as a musical guest. And one of the strongest literary moments of the entire year — a Ukrainian poetess will recite her verses Hera – Olena Herasymjuk.
It is the traditional gateway to famous faces TV JOJ autograph session in front of the Historic Town Hall — no entrance fee, more than thirty actors, presenters and columnists of the station in one place, incl. Marián Mitaš, Elena Vacvalová, Marián Lešek, Michal Szatmáry whether Matej Adamy.
Visitors can find a complete list of guests, schedule of premieres, masterclasses, industry and accompanying program of the 32nd IFF ART FILM Košice on the website.
