The 65th Krakow Film Festival (26 May – 2 June 2025) will showcase a significant and diverse body of Polish cinema, with 41 national productions set to compete across various categories. Spanning documentary, animation, and short fiction, this year’s Polish selection demonstrates a rich breadth of thematic and stylistic innovation, with works ranging from debut efforts to new titles by acclaimed auteurs.

Notably, ten Polish productions have been selected for two international competitions, contending for the prestigious Golden Horn and potential Academy Award qualification. Tomasz Wolski (The Big Chief), Weronika Mliczewska (Child of Dust), Natalia Koniarz (Silver), and Michał Pietrak (Do Painters Die Elsewhere) will compete internationally with films exploring themes such as familial separation, historical trauma, and the exploitation of marginalised communities.

In the shorts categories, six Polish films will vie for the Golden Dragon, with entries like Bloodline by Wojciech Węglarz and As Long as They Don’t Find Us by Maja Górczak foregrounding contemporary and historical barriers alike. Animated shorts including Tears by Paulina Ziółkowska and The Pool or Death of Goldfish by Daria Kopiec highlight experimental narrative forms and psychological depth.

The Polish National Competition will further expand the festival’s scope, with works divided among three primary forms: medium- and feature-length documentaries, animated shorts, and fiction shorts.

Medium- and Feature-Length Documentaries:

• The Queen and the Smokehouse, dir. Iga Lis (World Premiere)
• Do Painters Die Elsewhere, dir. Michał Pietrak (World Premiere)
• Two Cigarettes, dir. Rafał Łysak (World Premiere)
• Child of Dust, dir. Weronika Mliczewska
• The Town That Drove Away, dir. Natalia Pietsch, Grzegorz Piekarski
• On My Own Terms, dir. Tadeusz Chudy
• The Passion of Agnieszka, dir. Wojciech Staroń (World Premiere)
• A Song of Humble Beauty, dir. Anna Konik (World Premiere)
• The Whale Song, dir. Michał Hytroś (World Premiere)
• Silver, dir. Natalia Koniarz (World Premiere)
• The Big Chief, dir. Tomasz Wolski

Short Films — Animation:

• The Pool or Death of Goldfish, dir. Daria Kopiec (World Premiere)
• Dear Leo Sokolosky, dir. Weronika Szyma
• Hello, Headquarters, dir. Zuzanna Heller
• The Crooked Head, dir. Jakub Krzypkin
• Peace to This House, dir. Kinga Kociarz (World Premiere)
• The Show, dir. Agnieszka Popińska
• Birds of Paradise, dir. Tomasz Ducki (World Premiere)
• Tears, dir. Paulina Ziółkowska (World Premiere)
• Horde, dir. Janina Księska (World Premiere)
• Cold Home, dir. Alicja Liss (World Premiere)

Short Films — Documentary:

• Bloodline, dir. Wojciech Węglarz
• Casting, dir. Rafał Łysak
• Dom/Home, dir. Aleksandra Powalacz, Julia Powalacz (World Premiere)
• Inga, dir. Krzysztof Kopczyński (World Premiere)
• All the Colors of Youth, dir. Agnieszka Kalińska (World Premiere)
• JUMP!, dir. Michał Grzegorz Cysewski (World Premiere)
• The Light of Immortality, dir. Mikołaj Janik (World Premiere)
• In the Veins, dir. Maciej Tyburski (World Premiere)
• Dance with Me, Dad, dir. Małgorzata Goździk (World Premiere)
• As Long As They Don’t Find Us, dir. Maja Górczak (World Premiere)

Short Films — Fiction:

• Nothing Else, dir. Jakub Prysak
• People&Things, dir. Damian Kosowski
• Motherland, dir. Gor Arushanyan
• Neverlandex, dir. Agata Kapuścińska (World Premiere)
• Just, dir. Olga Kałagate (World Premiere)
• Reenactment, dir. Marcin Strauchold
• Look Homeward, dir. Artem Rachkelyuk
• Fear, dir. Robert Zawadzki (World Premiere)
• It’s All Because of Her, dir. Daria Kopiec
• Qaher, dir. Nada Khalifa (World Premiere)