KFF INDUSTRY 2025 - SUMMARY
KFF Industry is an event for film industry professionals. This year marked the twentieth anniversary of the event, which took place at the end of May/beginning of June in parallel with the 65th Krakow Film Festival. This year’s edition welcomed over 1150 guests, with several hundred of them coming from abroad. Filmmakers held over 1,200 one-to-one meetings with world-class experts and decision-makers who attended the Krakow Film Festival and KFF Industry in large numbers. Three pitching sessions and a co-production market presented 64 projects. Attendance at all KFF Industry events exceeded 3,600 entries.
The KFF Industry events, organised for the twentieth time, were attended by filmmakers and producers of documentaries, animated and short films; experts; programmers of international film festivals; sales agents; distributors; and representatives of film funds, TV stations and online and VOD platforms. For the third time, the programme included a series on virtual reality and special meetings for members of the Visegrad countries. Scottish cinema was the guest of honour. Those unable to attend in person could watch some of the recorded project presentations and access the KFF Video Library online.
ANIMATED IN POLAND
The thirteenth edition of Animated in Poland took place during this year’s KFF Industry event. Maarten van Gageldonk, programme director of the Kaboom Festival (the largest animation film festival in the Netherlands), led preparations for the pitching, which is the highlight of the KFF Industry animation section. Nine Polish animation short film projects in production were showcased at the pitching event. Following the presentations, which were moderated by Zofia Jaroszuk, a producer of animated films, the participants had the opportunity to meet with experts in one-to-one sessions. The experts included representatives from Kaboom Animation Festival, DOK Leipzig, IndieLisboa, Anifilm, Interfilm Berlin, PÖFF Shorts, SND Films, Arte, Freak Independent Film Agency, New Europe Film Sales and Anima Brussels Animation Film Festival, among others.
The best projects were awarded prizes. Young Horizons Industry award – an invitation to participate in the Young Talents programme for students and graduates of film and art schools during the international co-production forum Young Horizons Industry went to Talent Market participant Maja Olczak. The Sound Mind Studio Award – a voucher for 10 days of sound post-production for a film went to the project ‘Telegrams to the Tree’ directed by Julia Benedyktowicz (prod. Grzegorz Waclawek / Animoon). ‘Porridge Monster’, directed by Izabela Plucińska (prod. Paulina Ratajczak / Las Sztuki Foundation won the Fixafilm Award – a voucher for image post-production services worth PLN 10,000. The Krakow Technology Park – Multilab Award – a voucher to the value of PLN 5,000 to make a projection copy of the film went to the project ‘Heart’, directed by Oskar Aleksander Wasiluk (prod. Robert Sowa / Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow). The Crew United Special Mention – a three-year premium subscription to Crew United – went to the director and producer of the project “Aşk”, directed by Magdalena Iris Özen (prod. Robert Sowa / Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow).
Another important part of Animated in Poland was the Talent Market. Creators looking for a producer for their projects were able to meet representatives from eight Polish animation studios: Animoon, Krakow Animation Center, Marmolada Films, GS Animation, MoreFilm, BluBlu Studio and Filmograf. The presentations were preceded by a workshop ‘How to make a short film. From idea to festival success’, led by Olga Zhurzhenko from MoreFilm. The Talent Market was organised in collaboration with the Polish Animation Producers Association.
This year, Animated in Poland also featured case studies in which filmmakers discussed the process of creating animations which were showcased at the 65th Krakow Film Festival. The following were presented: ‘Dear Leo Sokolovsky’ by director Weronika Szyma; ’Tears’ by director Paulina Ziółkowska; ‘Crooked Heads’ by director Jakub Kryszpin and artistic supervisor Marcin Podolec; and ‘Horde’ by director Janina Księska and producer Robert Sowa. The meetings were hosted by Zofia Jaroszuk.
Every year during the Krakow Film Festival, the organisers offer the opportunity to participate in a special Master Class with a prominent filmmaker. This time, participants were able to meet the winner of this year’s Dragon of Dragons award at the KFF – Jean-François Laguionie. During his Master Class, he talked about the creative processes and challenges he encountered while working on his own independent films and about his original animation technique.
DOCS TO START AND DOCS TO GO PITCHINGS
The KFF Industry hosted the 11th session of the DOC LAB POLAND, co-organised by the Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation. Every year, selected Polish documentary projects participate in intensive workshops, which have their finale at KFF Industry – two pitching sessions: Docs to Start and Docs to Go, during which producers and filmmakers present their projects. This year’s edition featured a total of 23 projects. As part of the DOC LAB POLAND & UKRAINE project, Polish filmmakers were once again joined by artists and producers from Ukraine.
The aim of pitching Docs to Go is to present and promote the most interesting Polish and Ukrainian documentaries in post-production, which are expected to premiere in the coming months. In this year’s workshop preparing producers and directors of the selected 9 projects, the tutors were Aleksandra Derewienko (sales agent from Cat&Docs) and Peter Jaeger (sales agent, distributor, consultant from Jaeger Creative).
Pitching Docs to Start is a presentation of film projects in the development or first shooting phase. Its aim is to attract co-producers and the funding necessary to further the film. Participants presented their projects to producers, representatives of television broadcasters, regional film funds and film production co-financing institutions, as well as selectors from major industry events around the world. Tutors in the Start session were Adriek van Nieuwenhuiyzen (head of Industry at IDFA), Nadja Tennsteadt (head of DOK Industry at DOK Leipzig) and Ove Rishoj Jensen (producer and consultant, head of Co-Production Forum at FIPADOC Industry). As part of Docs to Start, 14 projects were presented.
After each day of pitching, project representatives held special one-to-one meetings with potential partners, including producers, festival programmers, distributors, funding bodies and TV broadcasters, such as representatives from Sundance, IDFA, CPH:DOX, Cat&Docs, IDF/East Doc Platform, DOK Leipzig, Freak Independent Film Agency, Taskovski Films, Trieste Film Festival, Lightdox, Thessaloniki IDFF, JMT Films, FIPADOC, Jihlava IDFF/Jihlava Industry, Bratislava Industry Days, Baltic Sea Docs, Means of Production, Visions du Réel Industry and Dok. Incubator, Czech Television, NDR, ARTE G.E.I.E., Swiss Television, SRF, SVT, the Netherlands Film Fund, the Scottish Documentary Institute, and the International Film Festival Febiofest.
This year, after pitching Docs to Go, four awards and one special mention were given to the following projects: Polish Film Institute Award – PLN 15,000 in cash for the project ‘Inner Landscapes’ dir. Zofia Sawicka, prod. Maciej Kubicki, Zofia Kujawska / Telemark, FINA Award – in-kind contribution: archival materials worth PLN 50,000 for the project ‘Theatre on Main Street – the story of Ida Kamińska ’ dir. Dawid Szurmiej, prod. by Katarzyna Kaczmarek, Milena Drincić, Dawid Szurmiej / Studio Agart, WFF – Wrocław Feature Film Studio Special Mention – video and sound postproduction services worth 25 000 PLN for the project ‘Tickling the Devil’ dir. Piotr Małecki, Maciek Nabrdalik, prod. Piotr Małecki / Short Docs Media, Fixafilm Award – video and sound postproduction services worth PLN 15,000 for the project “The Herd” dir. Mariusz Biernacki, prod. Iga Malińska / Play Colors Media, The Multilab / Krakow Technology Park Award – video and sound postproduction services worth PLN 10,000 for the project “Maestra” dir. Magda Nabiałczyk, prod. Iwona Harris / Lollipop Films.
A total of two main prizes and six honorable mentions were awarded to Polish documentary projects in the development phase participating in the Docs to Start pitching. Cafe Ole Award – sound postproduction service worth PLN 10,000 for the project ‘Her Name is Fields’ dir. Martyna Wróbel, Anna Biernacik prod. Magdalena Sztorc, Anna Zajączkowska / Mozaika Films; MX35 Award – equipment rental service worth PLN 10,000 for the project “Hear Olena” dir. Agnieszka Iwańska, prod. Izabela Igel / 7FILMS, DOK Leipzig Special Mention – invitation to Co Pro Meetings in Leipzig for the project “Her Name is Fields” dir. Martyna Wróbel, Anna Biernacik, prod. Magdalena Sztorc, Anna Zajączkowska / Mozaika Films, FIPADOC Special Mention – invitation as a guest project at FIPADOC Industry for the project Nothing To Fear’ dir. Katarzyna Cieślar, prod. Marta Dużbabel / ATM GRUPA S.A, IDFA Special Mention – invitation as a guest project at IDFA Forum in Amsterdam for the project ‘My Diana’ dir. Inga Pylypchuk, prod. Alexandra Bratyshchenko, Kateryna Ptashka / Eleron Pictures, The Institute of Documentary Film Special Mention – an invitation to the East Doc Platform in Prague for the project ‘To Mother’ dir. Mattias Bavré, prod. Stanislaw Zaborowski, Barbara Dyck, Maarten Bernaerts / Silver Frame, Salto Productions; Polish Docs PRO Special Mention – support of international promotion and an invitation to one of the international documentary events for the project ‘The Pillar’ dir. Marcin Koszałka, prod. Piotr Kobus / Mañana and DAE Encouragement Special Mention – 1 year of free membership in the Documentary Association of Europe and 1 consultation with an expert for the project “Inner Wild” dir. Kama Czudowska, prod. Dorota Schleiss / ASF Studio.
DOC IN COMMON – SCOTTISH DELEGATION
Scottish and international producers came together to discuss their projects and co-production opportunities, but also some of the bigger issues facing the documentary film industry when working in their home countries or co-producing with overseas. Participating in the roundtable discussion were Mary Bell & Adam Dawtrey (Bofa Productions), Reece Cargan (Randa), Sinead Kirwan (Enemy Films), Graham Fulton (Conic) and Flore Cosquer (Scottish Documentary Institute). The Scottish Day also included a panel who talked about the challenges of documentary distribution. The question ‘What if no one is watching?’ was answered by Graham Fulton (Conic Distribution), Monika Braid (Braidmade Films) and Reece Cargan (Randan). The conversation was moderated by Flore Cosquer (Scottish Documentary Institute).
CEDOC AND V4 CO PRO MEETINGS
Another industry event as part of the KFF Industry co-organised by the Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation was the CEDOC Market – Central European Documentary Co-Production Market – the only co-production meeting in Poland for documentary producers looking for both Polish and foreign partners. Meetings were held one-on-one and round tables between producers invited to the market, as well as one-on-one meetings with the international documentary industry: producers, sales agents, TV broadcasters, funds, as well as representatives of leading European training and pitching programmes. This year, 33 documentary projects from all over the world were selected for the CEDOC Market. during the round table meetings, the topics discussed were: Youth & Family Traumas, Passion & Art, Human Rights, Conflicts & Politics.
Co-production events for film professionals from the Visegrad countries – V4 Co-Pro Meetings – were also held in cooperation with CEDOC. Their premise was to initiate contacts between film producers and filmmakers from the region in order to establish cooperation in film production. Participants of the V4 Co-Pro Meetings also met with Ukrainian producers to discuss co-production opportunities and with international experts. One element of the programme was a panel discussion Making Docs Together: Co-Producing in the Visegrad with Ondrej Starinský ( RTVS | Slovakia), Maria Krauss (Plesnar & Krauss FILMS / KIPA | Poland), Julianna Ugrin (Eclipse Films / MADOKE | Hungary) and Veronika Lengálová (Czech Audiovisual Fund I Czech Republic) on cooperation opportunities in the region. The panel was moderated by Zdeněk Blaha, former programme director of the Documentary Film Institute in Prague.
PANELS: GREEN EDUCATION IN MEDIA, DISTRIBUTION AND FUNDING AND LEGAL ASPECTS VS AI
Several other panel discussions took place as part of this year’s KFF Industry.
A presentation of the GEM (Green Education in Media) project and an analysis of the challenges and opportunities of integrating a sustainability perspective into the educational curricula of future film producers and digital media designers featured Sophie Tummescheit, Nicole Loeser, Monika Głowacka and Małgorzata Kotlińska, and the discussion was moderated by Marta Materska-Samek.
A panel ‘From financing to distribution – institutional support for documentary filmmakers’ was organised for the Polish film community. Marek Zając (TVP), Paulina Czech-Malinowska (PISF) and Marta Dużbabel (ATM) took part in the discussion on current problems in the context of completing documentary budgets from multiple sources. On the paths of distribution and the visibility of documentaries, the discussion was addressed by Paulina Czech-Malinowska (Polish Film Institute), Małgorzata Prociak (KIPA) and Maria Magdalena Gierat (Kino Pod Baranami). The moderator of both talks was Anna E. Dziedzic (Crew United).
In addition to events dedicated to animation and documentaries, participants could meet and hear about legal issues related to Artificial Intelligence in the film industry. The legal panel, as every year, was chaired by Marcin Lassota and Wojciech Krawiec from Lassota and Krawiec sp.j. law firm.
VR AT THE KFF FOR THE THIRD TIME
This year marks the third time VR has appeared at the Krakow Film Festival. Joanna Popińska was again responsible for this year’s selection of five exceptional titles. It was possible to take part in the immersive experience at Bunkier Sztuki, where five projects were presented.
In addition to the exhibition, Case Studies were organised, during which the realisation cul-de-sacs of two – Ancestral Secret (2024) and Shelter (2025) – were presented. A discussion on the ethical dilemmas, technological challenges and creative possibilities of storytelling in immersive virtual reality featured creators Justin Karten, Ivanna Khitsinska and María José Díaz. The panel was moderated by Tom C. Hall.
DISCUSSIONS WITH SALES AGENTS, FESTIVAL PROGRAMMERS, KFF INDUSTRY MEETINGS AND DOC CASE STUDIES
Once again, this year featured the Meet the Festival Programmers and the Sales Agents panel, which was co-organised by Creative Europe Desk Poland. These panels provided a platform for discussions with film festival representatives and sales agents about current trends in the documentary film market. Topics covered included the popularity of certain types of films among audiences and the main criteria considered by programmers when selecting films. Participants included: Basil Tsiokos (Sundance Film Festival), Adriek van Nieuwenhuijzen (IDFA, IDFA Industry), Yannis Palavos (Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival), Giuseppe Gariazzo (Trieste Film Festival), Azra Jasarevic (Taskovski Films), Aleksandra Derevienko (CAT&Docs), Nadja Tennstedt (DOK Leipzig), Raluca Iacob (Lightbox), Alice Burgin (Visions du Réel) and Marion Czarny (FIPADOC).
The discussion was complemented by the KFF Industry Meetings, which consisted of individual one-to-one meetings. These meetings are aimed at producers, filmmakers, and other professionals involved in film promotion, and consist of 15-minute consultations. This year’s edition was divided into two categories: animation and short films, and documentaries. Participants had the opportunity to meet more than twenty international sales agents, TV station representatives, and festival programmers.
For the first time, case studies were organised where filmmakers and producers discussed the production of documentaries that were shown in the competition sections of the 65th Krakow Film Festival. The following were presented: “The Town That Drove Away”, directed by Natalia Pietsch and Grzegorz Piekarski and featuring underwater cinematographer Marcin Polar and producer Katarzyna Kostecka; “Child of Dust” directed and produced by Weronika Mliczewska; “Silver”, directed by Natalia Koniarz and featuring cinematographer Stanisław Cuske and producer Maciej Kubicki; and “The Big Chief”, directed by Tomasz Wolski and produced by Anna Gawlita.The meetings were hosted by Barbara Orlicz-Szczypuła and Katarzyna Wilk.
NETWORKING MEETINGS
KFF Industry is also a great opportunity for less formal networking. Filmmakers and experts present in Krakow had a chance to talk in less formal circumstances at the daily Meet the Industry Guests (hosted by Polish Animations, Polish Docs, ZAPA, Scottish Documentary Institute and Wajda Film Centre), the Vistula River Cruise with Doc Lab Poland & CEDOC, the Night in Kazimierz, where traditionally representatives of film festivals met in Alchemia, and for the 20th anniversary of KFF Industry, immediately after the Industry Awards Gala, participants met to toast the years to come at Krakow’s Lastriko Club.
KFF Industry 2025:
Partners: Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation , SPPA – Polish Animation Producers Association, KIPA – Polish Producers Alliance, TVP, KBF – Krakow Festival Office, Krakow Film Commission, Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Krakow Technology Park – Multilab, Fixafilm, Sound Mind, Crew United, Scottish Documentary Institute, UK British Council, DAE – Documentary Association of Europe, GEM: Green Education in Media, Young Horizons Industry
Partners of KFF Video Library are: DOK Leipzig, Institute of Documentary Films, Festival dei Popoli, Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
Project co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, Visegrad Fund, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Polish Filmmakers Association and The Municipality of Krakow
Co-organiser: Creative Europe Desk Polska
Media Patrons: Business Doc Europe, Modern Times Review, Film&TV Camera, Magazyn Filmowy SFP, Polish Docs, Polish Shorts, Polish Animations
Organiser and producer of the KFF Industry is Krakow Film Foundation. The event takes place during 65th Krakow Film Festival.
fot. Tomasz Korczyński, Maciej Zygmunt, Michał Łepecki, Zlata Slavasheuskaya, Wiola Imiolczyk, Lena Tryzno/ KFF