Happy Birthday with its world premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival!

We are delighted to announce that the short feature directed by our student, Aleksander Pakulski, has been noticed by the festival’s selectors and included in the programme of next year’s edition!

The film will be screened as part of the section DIFF Shorts 3: Isn’t It Fantastic?

The screening will take place on Friday, 27 February 2026, at 3:30 PM.

Happy Birthday | directed by Aleksander Pakulski | cinematography Daniel Le Hai | production management Kamil Warszawski | produced by the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School at the University of Silesia in Katowice, 2026.

Since the death of his child, Bogdan, seeing his grieving wife, suppressed his emotions so that he could be the strong support she needed. At the suggestion of Wiktoria's therapist, he helps her organize a birthday party for their deceased son so that his wife can come to terms with the loss. The husband, believing that this is the best way to help his beloved, agrees to this plan, hiding his own pain of longing for the child. While preparing for the party, the situation gets out of control for Bogdan.

A huge round of applause for the creators!

The Dublin International Film Festival will run from 19 February to 1 March 2026.

The film is supported by the Krakow Film Foundation.

11 December 2025

More great news from the Poitiers Film Festival and the Grand OFF Witold Kona – Best Independent Short Films in the World!

Recess, directed by Jan Saczek, received the Manifest Prize at the Poitiers Film Festival. The award includes a three-year inclusion of the film in the Manifest sales catalog and one year of festival distribution.

Recess | dir. Jan Saczek | cinematography: Patryk Roman | production management: Lidia Le Thanh

The film If I Had Balls, directed by Karolina Belka, was also recognized, winning Best Editing at the 19th Grand OFF Witold Kona – Best Independent Short Films in the World!

If I Had Balls | dir. Karolina Belka | cinematography: Aneta Bochnacka | editing: Bartosz Strusewicz | production management: Magda Walasek

Congratulations to all the filmmakers!

08 December 2025

With great joy, we announce that our graduate, Kordian Kądziela, has become a laureate of this year’s Janusz “Kuba” Morgenstern “Perspektywa” Award.

This is one of the most important distinctions for young directors, granted to creators whose debut demonstrates exceptional potential and future development. The award is funded by the Polish Film Institute, and the statuette was designed by Prof. Adam Myjak.

Kordian’s feature-length debut LARP. Miłość, trolle i inne questy, was honored — a hilarious, energetic coming-of-age story about school, first love, and an extraordinary hobby. This action-packed and humorous comedy follows a teenage technical-school student who is misunderstood by his family and bullied by his peers because of his passion for fantasy and… playing an elf in LARP games.

Congratulations!

25 November 2025

We encourage you to take part in the 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!

On 20 November 2025, a presentation of the Polskie Miasto Kultury (Polish City of Culture) programme took place at the City Hall of Bielsko-Biała. One of the key events of the programme is the Preisner Scoring Competition, an international composition contest for young creators of film and illustrative music, organised under the artistic direction of Zbigniew Preisner. The competition guidelines were presented by the Maestro himself.

Prof. Krystyna Doktorowicz, Dean of the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School, was invited to the presentation and was accompanied by Vice-Dean Dr Agnieszka Skołucka. We are actively involved in promoting the competition within the community of art schools and among young filmmakers. We will also take part in the laureates’ concerts concluding the competition in June 2026.

Are you between 18 and 35 and an emerging composer?

Compose a 10–15-minute piece inspired by Pieter Bruegel’s Tower of Babel and submit it to the Zbigniew Preisner Composition Competition.

Ten finalists will hear their works performed live in Bielsko-Biała by a symphony orchestra.

The main prize is €25,000!

Additionally, all participants of the second stage will receive a professional audio recording of their composition.

🔗 The link to the application form: https://preisnercompetition.com/pl/apply-pl/

Applications must be submitted by 28 February 2026.

21 November 2025