Ecological catastrophe, political intrigue, and intimate reckonings with memory and identity take centre stage in the 65th Krakow Film Festival’s International Documentary Competition. The 13-film programme, spanning continents and styles, captures a world in turmoil, where truth is elusive, systems are crumbling, and solace is often found in unexpected places.
The films in the competition explore environmental devastation in contexts as varied as California’s Yurok reservation, Bolivia’s deadly silver mines, and Romania’s mafia-linked illegal logging industry. Others highlight the courage and risk of dissenters, such as whistleblowers, investigative journalists, and double agents who take on corrupt corporations or authoritarian regimes. And in several cases, war remains an ever-present ghost, whether haunting a sanatorium near Odesa, resurfacing through the trauma of Amerasian children in Vietnam, or buried in the archives of Nazi propaganda.
Krakow Film Festival 2025 International Documentary Competition:
- Do Painters Die Elsewhere, dir. Michał Pietrak, Poland, 70’, 2025
- Child of Dust, dir. Weronika Mliczewska, Poland, Vietnam, Sweden, Czech Republic, Qatar, 93’, 2025
- Pet Farm, dir. Finn Walther, Martin Walther, Norway, 83’, 2024
- Tooth and Nail, dir. Mihai Dragolea, Radu Mocanu, Romania, 84’, 2025
- Shadowland, dir. Otso Tiainen, Finland, 98’, 2024
- Lovers in the Sky, dir. Fermin de la Serna, Argentina, Germany, USA, 77’, 2024
- New Beginnings, dir. Vivianne Perelmuter, Isabelle Ingold, Belgium, 87’, 2025
- The Gardener, the Buddhist and the Spy, dir. Håvard Bustnes, Norway, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, 95’, 2025
- The Propagandist, dir. Luuk Bouwman, Netherlands, 108’, 2024
- Sanatorium, dir. Gar O’Rourke, Ireland, Ukraine, 90’, 2025
- Silver, dir. Natalia Koniarz, Poland, Finland, Norway, 79’, 2025
- Tata, dir. Lina Vdovîi, Radu Ciorniciuc, Romania, 83’, 2024
- The Big Chief, dir. Tomasz Wolski, Poland, France, Netherlands, 88’, 2025
