POLISH PROJECTS AT EAST DOC PLATFORM
Seven Polish or Polish co-produced documentary projects have been selected for East Doc Platform 2026, one of the major industry events dedicated to documentary film from Central and Eastern Europe. This year's edition takes place in Prague from 19 to 25 March 2026 and will once again serve as a meeting point between filmmakers and producers, distributors, festival representatives, as well as broadcasters from around the world.
East Doc Platform is the region's largest co-production, financing, and distribution forum for documentary projects. The programme for this year's edition features several titles with Polish connections – at various stages of development, production, and post-production alike.
In the Czech Docs: Coming Soon section, the project La Mona, directed by Nadja Drost and Bruno Federico, produced by Michał Sikora and co-produced by Weronika Mliczewska, will be presented. It tells the story of La Mona, who after 21 years spent in the jungle lays down her arms and attempts to begin a new life. A former guerrilla fighter who joined the rebellion at the age of fourteen, she now faces a difficult reintegration into society, an effort to rebuild her relationship with the son she left behind, and the burden of her own past. When tragedy strikes, she is confronted with a choice: return to violence or attempt to break its vicious cycle. It is an intimate portrait of a woman scarred by war and put to the test during a fragile peace.
The East Doc Forum programme, meanwhile, features three Polish projects. The Sorceress, currently in production, directed by Martyna Peszko and produced by Alicja Gancarz, is a story about the force of life, female solidarity, and reclaiming of agency in the face of loss and advancing age. At its centre is a woman who, after a devastating personal collapse, undertakes the task of building herself anew at the age of 81.
The project Tendrils, also in production, directed by Mateusz Góra and Kamil Wilk and produced by Piotr Śmiechowski, draws an intimate portrait of Karo – a non-binary Gen Z artist living in Warsaw. The film touches upon the issues of mental health, the need for belonging, and life in a society that challenges the right to self-determination. The protagonist's art becomes a form of survival and a means of building networks of support.
Next, House in a Bottle, directed by Anna Morawiec and produced by Agata Jujeczka, addresses the subject of adult children of alcoholics. Its starting point is an experience that is at once deeply personal and widely shared – growing up in a household affected by alcoholism, and the subsequent attempt to build a relationship with oneself and the world.
The event will also see the presentation of a documentary series currently in development: When The Wind Blows, directed by Anna Savchenko. This three-part international production examines how the expansion of wind energy is transforming landscapes, local communities, and economies across different parts of Europe. Poland is featured as one of the story's key focal points, where former mining regions are grappling with the social and economic consequences of the energy transition.
The Polish co-production Letters, directed by Andrei Kutsila and produced by Mirosław Dembiński, has made it into the East Doc Market section, reserved for rough cuts and completed films. This hybrid documentary tells the stories of five persons from Belarus whose lives have been indelibly marked by state violence and political repression. Personal letters from prison, exile, and hiding form the basis of a profoundly moving account of resistance, dignity, and the price of freedom.
The development and production strand also includes the project Good Night, Princesses, directed by Iga Łapińska and produced by Barbara Welbel-Vaknin and Karolina Śmigiel. By using archival VHS footage, the film recounts the experience of a girl growing up in a small Polish village at the turn of both the political system and the century. It's a coming-of-age story in a world where gender, from the earliest age, dictates social expectations and the boundaries of freedom.
Additionally, as part of the special East Silver video library programme called Polish Docs + Krakow Film Foundation, a total of 11 Polish titles will be made available. These are:
Silver, dir. Natalia Koniarz
Three Chants, dir. Krzysztof Nowicki
Do Painters Die Elsewhere, dir. Michał Pietrak
Passion According to Agnieszka, dir. Wojciech Staroń
The Queen and the Smokehouse, dir. Iga Lis
On My Own Terms, dir. Tadeusz Chudy
Woodeaters, dir. Julia Pełka
Inga, dir. Krzysztof Kopczyński
The Tuners, dir. Paweł Chorzępa
Bacewicz x Bomsori, dir. Jakub Piątek
House of Ants, dir. Katarzyna Kultys
A complete list of all selected projects is available here.