We are delighted to announce that the film produced by Aleksandra Aleksander, titled Kontrewers has been selected for the Berlinale Shorts competition and will compete for the Golden Bear at the 76th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Kontrewers directed by Zuza Banasińska, tells the story of an encounter between the spirit of a possessed girl, trapped in a stone, and the director’s 102-year-old grandmother. Blending archival materials, documentary, and staged scenes, the film creates a moving reflection on memory, our relationship with the past, and the unseen.
The 76th Berlin International Film Festival runs until February 22, 2026.
Nominations for the ORŁY, the main prize at Blaue Blume Polska, and the premiere of Maciej Pieprzyca’s latest series – so much is happening!
We have just learned the nominees for the Polskie Nagrody Filmowe ORŁY 2026 – among them are our lecturers and graduates. We warmly congratulate all the honorees!
But that’s not the end of the good news. The Best Polish Film in this year’s Blaue Blume Polska competition went to our narrative short “Initium”, directed by student Marek Mogilski. This is a great joy for us and proof that young talents develop at an impressive pace here.
Moreover, on February 11, another special premiere – the latest series by our lecturer, Prof. Maciej Pieprzyca, PhD, debuts on the Netflix streaming platform: “Lead Children”.
It is a multi-episode, highly acclaimed drama inspired by true events – a must-watch!
Our lecturers and graduates among the nominees:
🏆 The Altar Boys, dir. Piotr Domalewski (produced by Aneta Hickinbotham), in the categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay
🏆 SILVER, dir. Natalia Koniarz, in the category: Best Documentary Film
🏆 1670 (Season 2), dir. Maciej Buchwald, Kordian Kądziela, in the category: Best Narrative Series
🏆 Przesmyk, dir. Jan P. Matuszyński, in the category: Best Narrative Series
🏆 LARP. Miłość, trolle i inne questy, dir. Kordian Kądziela, in the category: DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR
We warmly invite you to watch and celebrate the successes of our community together! 🎬
Join us for a meeting with Piotr Jaxa - photographer, film director and cinematographer, who collaborated with Krzysztof Kieślowski, Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Zanussi.
For over 25 years, Piotr Jaxa has been developing the international project “Cinematographers”, in which he portrays outstanding directors of photography — the image creators who usually remain behind the camera. So far, he has met and photographed over 160 cinematographers from 24 countries, including legends such as Vittorio Storaro, Sven Nykvist and Robby Müller.
During the meeting, the artist will speak about the origins of the project, his travels, collaborations with masters of cinema, and his original concept of the “photographic interview,” in which cinematographers actively co-create their own portraits by choosing meaningful locations, props and visual elements. It will be a conversation about sensitivity, image-making and responsibility for the frame.
24 February 2026 (Tuesday)
1:00 PM
Room 1.20
The exhibition “Cinematographers” is presented on the 3rd floor of the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School
(Świętego Pawła 3, 40-008 Katowice).
The exhibition runs from 24 February to 9 March 2026.
Free admission.
Last photo: Anna Szrama - initiator of the meeting and the exhibition.
We invite you to a meeting with Piotr Jaxa – photographer, film director, and cinematographer. Having collaborated with many outstanding directors, including Krzysztof Kieślowski, Andrzej Wajda, and Krzysztof Zanussi, he has been traveling for the past twenty-five years, portraying leading cinematographers in order to commemorate the faces of those who are crucial to the world of cinema yet usually remain unknown. To date, he has met more than 160 cinematographers from 24 countries across four continents. Among them are such legends of cinema as Raoul Coutard, Sven Nykvist, Vadim Yusov, Freddie A. Young, Vittorio Storaro, László Kovács, Robby Müller, Conrad Hall, Piotr and Witold Sobociński, and Subrata Mitra.
To bring viewers closer to the world and sensitivity of his subjects, Piotr Jaxa employs an original form of portraiture which he calls a “photographic interview.” He invites these talented and experienced image creators to step in front of the camera and actively co-create a visual narrative about themselves. Through the choice of a place that is meaningful to them — and sometimes also a costume or a prop — the cinematographers tell, in the language they know best, the story of their lives and work: their families, generations, communities, and the cultures in which they grew up. Thanks to this collaboration, and to the richness of personalities and creative temperaments of those portrayed by Jaxa, the project is accompanied by a fascinating diversity of shots and aesthetics.
We invite you to a meeting with Piotr Jaxa and a curator-guided tour of the exhibition Cinematographers, which will take place on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 1:00 PM, in Small Cinema Hall No. 1.20, at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School of the University of Silesia in Katowice.
Registration is required!
Please send an email confirming your participation to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by February 19, 2026.
The exhibition will be on view at the Film School from February 24 to March 20, 2026. The meeting is primarily intended for students; however, the exhibition is open to the public, and all interested visitors are welcome.
Yesterday, a special screening of the first two episodes of the Netflix series “Lead Children” took place at the Rialto Cinema-Theatre in Katowice. The series is directed by our lecturer, Prof. Maciej Pieprzyca.
The screening was followed by a discussion with the director and Joanna Kulig, who plays the leading role. The talk was moderated by Ewelina Kosałka-Passia.
The series premieres on February 11 on Netflix.
We invite you to watch!
This six-episode production stars Joanna Kulig alongside Kinga Preis, Michał Żurawski, Agata Kulesza, Marian Dziędziel, and Zbigniew Zamachowski.
Official series description:
The series tells the story of a young doctor, Jolanta Wadowska-Król, who discovers that children living near the Szopienice Smelter are falling ill en masse with lead poisoning, a disease caused by heavy metal contamination. After making her discovery, she attempts to save the sick children while confronting the oppressive communist state apparatus. The production transports viewers to the industrial atmosphere of Upper Silesia in the 1970s, where dangerous political influences intertwine with Dr. Wadowska-Król’s social mission in a working-class region.
