The idea behind the festival is to present the work of film school students from around the world to a wider audience, as well as to foster creative exchange and integration between schools. Confronting different film achievements provides students with a great opportunity to observe the techniques and craftsmanship of their peers. It allows for the exchange of opinions about artistic perspectives and creative approaches, and gives participants a chance to be recognized by a professional jury and a large audience.
The aim of the festival and its accompanying events is also to bring participants together — through shared discussions and fun. Węgiel Film Festival is a unique event, organized with great passion by second-year students of Film and Television Production Organization at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School of the University of Silesia in Katowice.
Each year, the festival enjoys increasing popularity, also beyond Poland’s borders. With the regular participation of numerous international film productions in the competition, the event has grown to hold international significance.
The prestige of the festival is reflected in the presence of distinguished figures from the film industry on the Jury. In the last three editions, the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School of the University of Silesia in Katowice has been visited by many directors, presidents, and key representatives of leading institutions in the field, including:
- Marcin Pieńkowski – New Horizons International Film Festival
- Szymon Witkowski – Małopolska Small Forms Film Fund
- Joanna Szymańska – Shipsboy
- Joanna Łapińska and Agata Kozierańska-Burda – Polish Film Festival in Gdynia
- Sławomir Salamon – boxoffice.pl
- Grzegorz Łoszewski – Polish Filmmakers Association (SFP)
- Jerzy Kapuściński – Munk Studio
- Maciej Sobczyk – Polish Screenwriters’ Guild
- Marcin Mikołajczyk – ATM System
- Inga Kruk – Wonder Films
- Dorota Eberhardt – HBO Max
- Dorit von Scharpen – ARTE (Germany)
Welcome to the official website of the Festival nad its Facebook profile.