As the first festival in Eastern Europe to join the Film Festival Alliance (FFA), we are part of an international network whose members include Sundance, Chicago International Film Festival, and Palm Springs International Film Festival. Based on reviews on FilmFreeway, we rank among the platform's 10 best-reviewed film festivals.
We have introduced Košice audiences to acclaimed films and the work of directors whose films have found success at leading international festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Sundance, and Karlovy Vary. These include 107 Mothers by Peter Kerekes, Pura Vida by Martin Gonda, Plastic Symphony by Juraj Lehotský, and Promise I'll Be Fine by Katarína Gramatová.
Our aim is to bring not only outstanding films to Košice, but also the people who make them. We therefore place particular emphasis on welcoming international directors, screenwriters, and other film professionals in person. We want to create opportunities for encounters with audiences, open discussions, exchanges of experience, and new international collaborations. We believe that a film festival continues beyond the final image on screen, through the conversations, ideas, and connections that films leave with us.
The timing of our festival also gives it a distinctive character. It takes place during the Christmas season, when Košice becomes a city of lights, Christmas markets, and a festive atmosphere. We want to offer our guests more than a film programme: an opportunity to discover Košice at its most enchanting, experience its hospitality, and take home memories that extend beyond the festival itself.
The festival's award is the Golden Fountain, inspired by one of the city's iconic landmarks, the Singing Fountain. It symbolises our connection to Košice and our ambition to recognise films distinguished by their originality, artistic courage, and ability to connect with audiences.
The festival's home is the iconic Kino Úsmev, a cinema with a distinctive atmosphere and a rich film heritage. Here, we bring together independent cinema, the international filmmaking community, and audiences who look to film for more than entertainment.
We are building the festival with the conviction that Košice has the potential to become an important meeting place for the international film community. We want to bring new cinematic experiences to the city, support emerging talent, and create a platform that connects local cultural identity with world cinema.
We discover films that cross borders. We bring their creators to Košice.
Peter Poch, Festival Director | Erik Jasaň, Festival Strategy
Košice International Film Festivalannounces its selection of short film, feature film and television pilot screenplays. Alongside its film programme, the festival also turns its attention to stories on the page and the writers developing them for the screen.
To keep creating even when circumstances are difficult. To find your own voice, explore new approaches and seek out people with whom you can create something meaningful. Košice International Film Festival 2026 embraces the motto Gaudium creandi — the joy of creation. In challenging times, it reminds us why we return to filmmaking: the opportunity...
Andrej wants a quiet summer. To spend time with his grandmother, stay out of trouble and avoid alcohol, which sometimes leaves him stuck up a tree, unable to get down. But then he meets Miša. Over a glass of Fanta, a connection begins that changes his plans entirely.
A film ends, but the conversation about it can continue long afterwards. Sometimes a character stays with us; at other times, an image, a line of dialogue or an unexpected turn in the story. When deciding on festival awards, these impressions meet questions about the screenplay, direction and how individual creative choices work together.