TWO POLISH DOCUMENTARIES IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AT THE 66TH KFF
Two remarkable Polish films have been selected for the International Documentary Competition of 66th Krakow Film Festival. “Tickling the Devil” by Piotr Małecki and Maciej Nabrdalik, and “Magic Hour” by Marcin Borchardt, tell the contrasting life stories of two filmmakers for whom filmmaking became a passion and a lifelong commitment, for which both paid a heavy price
Their protagonists – Christopher Morris and Piotr Sobociński – share more than just talent. One has spent years documenting military conflicts; the other has helped shape the language of cinema. In both cases, the camera becomes a tool for experiencing reality, yet the protagonists must confront the most challenging aspects of their own selves.
Postscript to War
The protagonist of the film 'Tickling the Devil' is Christopher Morris, one of America’s most renowned war photographers. For years, he documented conflicts in Bosnia, Chechnya, Iraq and Afghanistan. Today he lives in Florida and struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. A peaceful family life does not free him from recurring images and memories. In an increasingly polarised and violence-scarred America, he sees signs that evoke experiences from past battlefields.
Upon returning from yet another war, the protagonist tries to cut himself off from the past, and Małecki and Nabrdalik’s film captures the moment when Morris must decide whether he is ready to confront it once more. It is also a portrait of a man gifted with an exceptional ability to recognise the signs of an impending crisis – someone who for years has viewed the world through the prism of violence and today finds its familiar language in his own country with growing unease.
Breathless
'Magic Hour', directed by Marcin Borchardt, is a film pieced together from private archives and family home videos, telling the story of Piotr Sobociński – one of Poland’s most distinguished cinematographers. It is both a family and a generational story: of a passion passed down from father to son, of learning to see, and of work that becomes a way of life. Witold Sobociński, working with Poland’s most distinguished directors, passes this sensibility on, and Piotr Sobociński develops it in his own way, as evidenced, among other things, by his Oscar nomination for cinematography on Krzysztof Kieślowski’s “Three Colours: Red”.
The titular ‘magic hour’ – the most beautiful light of the day, fleeting and demanding the full mobilisation of the entire crew – becomes here more than just a cinematographic term. It is a metaphor for creative fulfilment, but also for tension, effort and a life lived at full throttle.
The Krakow Film Festival is on the exclusive list of film events eligible to qualify for Oscar® nominations in the short film categories (fiction, animation, documentary) and feature-length documentary, for the European Film Awards in the same categories, and also qualifies for BAFTA awards.
The 66th Krakow Film Festival will take place in cinemas from 31 May to 7 June 2026 and online on KFF VOD from 5 June to 19 June.