The programme of the 32nd edition of the International Film Festival Art Film (June 19–25, 2026) includes a number of Slovak classic and contemporary films and series. A dozen titles from the collections of the Slovak Film Institute (SFI) will be screened, while four films have been selected for the festival’s competition sections and a further thirteen films and series will be presented in non-competitive programmes.
The traditional section SFI: Our Family Film Treasures will present twelve films. Exactly half of them are being screened in connection with the launch of the book Slovak Compilation Film by film theorist Martin Palúch, co-published by the SFI. The remaining films include the feature-length titles F. T. on the Road and The Man Who Never Returned (whose digitally restored versions will be presented in renewed premieres), Kangchenjunga by Ján Piroh (preceded by the director’s short film Air Temperature 50°C, Humidity 97%), and two films by Martin Hollý, Custom Tailored Death and Signum Laudis, screened on the occasion of actor Vlado Müller receiving the Milan Lasica Award.
In the International Competition of Feature Films, the drama Wirbel by debut director Tomáš Hubáček (SK prod. sentimentalfilm, pictured here) will have its world premiere. The International Competition of Short Films will welcome This Room Is Impossible to Eat, a student film by VŠMU graduate Emília Ondriašová, which recently premiered at the Krakow Film Festival. Finally, the International Competition of Central and Eastern European Films will feature the Slovak premieres of two documentary films among a selection of eight titles: We Have to Survive by director and producer Tomáš Krupa (SK prod. HAILSTONE) and My Father’s Daughter, directed and co-produced by Lea Podhradská (SK co-prod. Story Lab).
The non-competitive Slovak Season section will showcase ten new Slovak audiovisual works, including six films and four series. The film selection includes the feature-length absurd comedy Still Standing, Still Stuffed by directors Andrej Kolenčík and Juraj Šlauka (SK prod. Admiral Films, world premiere), the feature-length drama The Last Season (dir. Pavol Hirjak, SK prod. inframe pictures, world premiere) and five documentary films: The Centre of Peripheries (dir. Matej Baník, SK prod. OZ Slam Poetry SK, world premiere), Everest: A Mother’s Peak (dir. Paul Diffley, world premiere), The Invisible Jan Gogola (dir. Marek Janičík, SK prod. Nový film, Slovak premiere), and 1+1+1 (dir. Ondřej Vavrečka, SK prod. D1film, Slovak premiere). Festival audiences will also have the opportunity to watch the first episodes of four TV series produced by TV JOJ: Crime Unit Hawk (dir. Jiří Chlumský), The Chicks (dir. Ján Novák), About Time (dir. Lukáš Zednikovič), and Sexta (dirs. Adam Sedlák and Jan Hřebejk).
The Movies for Kids section will present Miloslav Šmídmajer’s fairy-tale film Princess Stella (SK co-prod. FilmWorx), which has already been released in domestic cinemas. In honour of actress Anna Šišková, who will receive the festival’s Actor’s Mission Award, the film Filthy by her daughter Tereza Nvotová (SK prod. BFILM) will be screened. The documentary Via Slovakia (dir. Viťazoslav Chrappa, SK prod. FilmWorx) will be shown in the AF Industry section Finally, SFI Director General Peter Dubecký will receive the festival’s Golden Camera Award in recognition of his significant contribution to filmmaking.
More information about the Slovak films can be found on the festival website.
