SUBMISSIONS OPEN FOR THE 67TH KRAKOW FILM FESTIVAL
Submissions are now open for the 67th Krakow Film Festival, marking the start of our search for documentaries and short films that will meet audiences in Krakow next year. Led by Artistic Director Anita Piotrowska, the selection team is looking for the most compelling productions from around the world, with around 200 titles set to make it into the festival programme. The upcoming edition will also bring an important new addition: for the first time, the festival will host the International Documentary Debut Competition!
We would like filmmakers who are only beginning their journey in documentary cinema to become more visible. The Krakow Film Festival will place an even greater emphasis than before on discovering and promoting their films. Taking part in an international competition will give this work greater prominence, so we are very happy that Krakow will become a place even more open to documentary debuts — says Anita Piotrowska.
Filmmakers can submit documentaries of at least 50 minutes and short films of up to 30 minutes. Submission deadlines vary depending on the film’s completion date and country of production.
For Polish and international films completed before 31 October 2026, the submission deadline is 30 November 2026. International productions completed after that date can be submitted until 31 January 2027, while Polish productions can be entered until 15 February 2027.
From all submitted productions, the selection team will choose around 200 titles. Some of them will compete in three international competitions: the International Documentary Competition, International Short Film Competition and International Documentary Debut Competition, as well as in the National Competition, which has for years remained one of Poland’s most important platforms for presenting the latest domestic productions.
One of the key new additions to the 67th edition will be the International Documentary Debut Competition, creating a dedicated space for filmmakers taking their first steps in feature-length documentary cinema. DocFilmMusic will continue in a new format, remaining part of the programme as a non-competitive section. We want to keep presenting music documentaries and stories in which music becomes a central character, a cinematic language, or a starting point for telling stories about artists, culture and the contemporary world.
Films selected for the competitions will compete for the Krakow Film Festival’s major awards: the Golden Hobby-Horses in the National Competition, the Dragons in the International Short Film Competition, the Horns in the International Documentary Competition, as well as an award in the International Documentary Debut Competition.
The regulations and submission form are available at www.krakowfilmfestival.pl.
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The Krakow Film Festival is included on the exclusive list of events qualifying films for the Academy Awards® in the short film categories of live action, animation and documentary, as well as in the documentary feature category. The festival also qualifies films for the European Film Awards in the same categories and for the BAFTA Awards.
The 67th Krakow Film Festival will take place in cinemas from 30 May to 6 June 2027, and online on KFF VOD from 4 to 18 June 2027.
The Krakow Film Festival is organised with financial support from the City of Krakow, the Polish Film Institute, the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, from the Culture Promotion Fund, a state special-purpose fund. The Polish Filmmakers Association is a co-organiser