An Oscar winner, renowned writers, the oldest DJ, award-winning actresses, famous and rebellious artists, as well as young, talented creators. You will find them all at various festival locations, most often in cinemas at Q&A meetings.
Dragon of Dragons Award for Oscar Winner
The Dragon of Dragons Award 2023 for contribution to the development of world animation was awarded to Dutch artist and animated film director Michael Dudok de Wit. The creator of the Oscar-winning animated film Father and Daughter (2000) will present all his films in Krakow: expressive, modest in form animated shorts, as well as the Cannes-awarded and Oscar-nominated feature film The Red Turtle. Michael Dudok de Wit will also participate in KFF Talks, a meeting dedicated to the influence of art on shaping pro-environmental attitudes.
Creators
Two distinguished directors: Margreth Olin, creator of the opening film Songs of Earth and Jagoda Szelc, chairman of the Short Film Jury in the National Competition, will also take part in KFF Talks. The author of Monument will be accompanied in the deliberations by, among others, the multiple-time winner of the Krakow Film Festival
Damian Kocur. The competitions feature several very interesting names. Bren Cukier makes a debut with the excellent short Thursday, starring the great young actress Marianna Zydek. There will also be plenty of stars at the premiere of My Old Gals, with Dorota Stalińska and Dorota Pomykała, both starring in the main roles, present. This daring film was directed by Natasza Parzymies, whom we may know from the hit internet series Control. On the other hand, in Michał Toczek’s phenomenal Be SomebodyJowita Budnik and Sebastian Stankiewicz shine in the roles of a married couple. They will all be available to talk to after the premiere screenings of their films.
Heroines and Heroes
The Krakow Film Festival is not only about the best short films from around the world, but also about exceptional documentaries. Their heroes and heroines are often well-known figures from the world of culture. In Bartosz Paduch’s film Fantastic Matt Parey we will see, among others, Szczepan Twardoch, Jacek Dukaj or Łukasz Orbitowski. The latter two writers will appear at the festival.
The heroine of Ula directed by Agnieszka Iwańska will also be present. The outstanding vocalist Urszula Dudziak will be in Krakow on June 3. Another star from the music stage is DJ Wika, whom we will see both on the big screen in Agnieszka Zwiefka’s biographical documentary Vika! by Agnieszka Zwiefka, but also behind the console during one of the industry events.
After the screening of Lodz Kaliska: Classic Artists of the Absurd by Sławomir Grünberg, the audience will get to meet the director and producers, as well as the extremely colourful and rebellious members of the titular group. Although
Kasia Chlebny is not the heroine of a documentary, but that is probably just a matter of time. The talented actress and singer will grace the award ceremony with her performance.
The detailed Festival program is available at www.krakowfilmfestival.pl.
Krakow Film Festival is on the exclusive list of qualifying events for the Oscars® in the categories of short film (live action, animated, documentary) and documentary feature, as well as a recommending event for the European Film Awards in the same categories.
Krakow Film Festival is organised with the financial support of the European Union as part of the “Creative Europe” program, the City of Kraków, the Polish Film Institute, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the Lesser Poland Province. The co-organiser is the Polish Filmmakers Association, and the main organiser is the Krakow Film Foundation.
The 63rd Krakow Film Festival will be held in Kraków’s cinemas from 28 May to 4 June and across Poland at the KFF VOD online streaming platform between 2 and 18 June.