Movie

The set of Zuzanna Grabowska’s film The Road Less Traveled, press materials
The set of Zuzanna Grabowska’s film The Road Less Traveled, press materials

Film Fund: Three Regional Productions Selected for the BellaTOFIFEST Competition

Fifteen films will compete for the Golden Angel Award in the From Poland competition at BellaTOFIFEST 2026 in Toruń. The Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Self-Government is the festival’s main partner.

From Poland is one of the festival’s most important sections, showcasing the current state of Polish cinema. The competition features the latest Polish feature films and documentaries.

“For years we have followed the newest Polish productions, which continue to surprise audiences with their unique artistic vision. This year is no exception: the programme includes acclaimed dramas, bold genre films, and documentaries searching for their own cinematic language. The competition demonstrates the diversity of thought and creativity among contemporary Polish filmmakers,” says Kafka Jaworska, Director of BellaTOFIFEST.

The organisers of the festival’s 24th edition have announced the list of fifteen films selected for the From Poland competition. Among them are three productions created with support from the Kujawy and Pomorze Film Fund. The list includes the widely acclaimed and award-winning A Good Home (Dom dobry), directed by Wojciech Smarzowski. The film attracted nearly 2.5 million cinema-goers and won five Polish Film Awards (the Eagles) in 2026, including Best Film, Best Director for Smarzowski, Best Actress and Best Actor for Agata Turkot and Tomasz Schuchardt, and Best Original Score for Mikołaj Trzaska.

The other two productions supported by the regional film fund premiered this year. In March, the documentary Candidates for Death (Kandydaci śmierci), directed by Maciej Cuske, had its world premiere in Thessaloniki. The Bydgoszcz-based filmmaker worked on the project for almost two decades. The documentary originated from a family holiday during which Cuske took his son Staś and two of his friends on a trip and suggested making an amateur horror film to draw them away from computer screens. What began as a summer pastime gradually evolved into a long-term creative ritual. The resulting documentary captures the boys’ coming of age, relationships, and personal transformations.

For her directorial debut, The Road Less Traveled (Droga rzadziej przemierzana), Zuzanna Grabowska chose the picturesque towns of Górzno and Szubin in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region as filming locations. The film follows Julia (played by Grabowska) and Weronika (Agata Wątróbska), who reunite to attend the funeral of a mutual friend. Their journey becomes an opportunity to revisit past experiences and unresolved issues that have shaped their relationship over the years. Supporting roles are played by Andrzej Grabowski, Janusz Chabior, Mirosław Zbrojewicz, and Paweł Domagała, among others.

The curator of the From Poland section is Łukasz Maciejewski, an award-winning journalist, film critic, and author. Unlike many film festivals, the winner of the Golden Angel Award is selected by the audience rather than a professional jury.

Films Selected for the From Poland Competition

  • Brother (Brat), directed by Maciej Sobieszczański
  • LARP: Love, Trolls and Other Quests (LARP. Miłość, trolle i inne questy), directed by Kordian Kądziela
  • Altar Boys (Ministranci), directed by Piotr Domalewski
  • A Good Home (Dom dobry), directed by Wojciech Smarzowski
  • The Road Less Traveled (Droga rzadziej przemierzana), directed by Zuzanna Grabowska
  • The Handyman (Człowiek do wszystkiego), directed by Anna Sasnal and Wilhelm Sasnal
  • Winter Under the Sign of the Crow (Zima pod znakiem wrony), directed by Kasia Adamik
  • North South (Północ Południe), directed by Sebastian Pańczyk
  • Clarinet (Klarnet), directed by Tola Jasionowska
  • The Great Warsaw Race (Wielka Warszawska), directed by Bartłomiej Ignaciuk
  • The Duel (Pojedynek), directed by Łukasz Palkowski
  • Franz Kafka, directed by Agnieszka Holland
  • Without End (Bez końca), directed by Michał Marczak
  • Candidates for Death (Kandydaci śmierci), directed by Maciej Cuske
  • Talk to Me (Godej do mie), directed by Robert Talarczyk

 

The 24th edition of BellaTOFIFEST will take place in Toruń from 27 June to 3 July 2026. The Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Self-Government is the festival’s main partner. Screenings will be held at the Jordanki Cultural and Congress Centre, Cinema City, the Artus Court Cultural Centre, and an open-air cinema venue. This year’s festival theme is Terry Gilliam’s film 12 Monkeys. The opening screening will be No Good Men by Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat.

Department of Promotion
Dariusz Czołgowski

19 June 2026