BellaTOFIFEST 2026: Simlat and Czerwińska to Receive the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Film Award
More than 130 screenings, nearly 200 invited guests, and two of our Film Awards – the 24th edition of BellaTOFIFEST will begin in Toruń on Saturday (27 June). The Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Self-Government is the festival’s main partner. Today’s press conference was attended by Deputy Marshal Zbigniew Ostrowski, who announced additional recipients of the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Film Award named after Pola Negri.
“I’m smiling from ear to ear because that’s always how I welcome another edition of the BellaTOFIFEST International Film Festival,” said Deputy Marshal Zbigniew Ostrowski. “This is already the 24th gathering, and for me the awards presented during the festival are always a major attraction and surprise. The Marshal’s Film Award of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region is gaining prestige because if we look at the list of filmmakers who have received it, we see the very best of Polish cinema—both contemporary and from earlier generations. And all of this is taking place in a year that the Regional Assembly has declared the Year of Film People.”
During the festival’s opening ceremony, the statuette featuring silent-film star Pola Negri will be presented to Toruń-born actress Magdalena Czerwińska. At the festival’s closing gala, the distinction will be awarded to Łukasz Simlat, an actor known, among other roles, for his acclaimed performance in Seasons, a film produced in cooperation with our Kujawy Pomorze Film Fund.
Other Recipients of the Marshal’s Film Award
BellaTOFIFEST audiences will have the opportunity to watch more than 130 films. Fifteen titles will compete for the Golden Angel Award, chosen by viewers, in the From Poland competition, which showcases the latest Polish feature and documentary productions.
Among them will be three films supported by the Kujawy Pomorze Film Fund: Wojciech Smarzowski’s acclaimed and award-winning The Good House, Candidates for Death, the long-awaited documentary by Bydgoszcz-based director Maciej Cuske, and The Road Less Traveled, the directorial debut of actress Zuzanna Grabowska, who selected the picturesque towns of Górzno and Szubin in our region as filming locations.
The festival’s second competition, On Air, presents debut and second feature films from around the world and is one of the most anticipated events of BellaTOFIFEST. This year, twelve films will compete for the Grand Prix, including productions from Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Finland. The winner will be selected by a jury consisting of directors Magdalena Łazarkiewicz and Xawery Żuławski, actors Andrzej Chyra and Karolina Gruszka, and producer Wojciech Gostomczyk.
Festival organizers have also prepared a special section entitled The Actresses of Andrzej Wajda, marking the 100th anniversary of the legendary director’s birth and focusing on the women featured in his films. Screenings will include The Maids of Wilko, Sweet Rush, The Birch Wood, Pan Tadeusz, Wałęsa: Man of Hope, Hunting Flies, and Man of Marble. Audiences will also have the chance to meet stars who appeared in these productions, including Anna Seniuk, Emilia Krakowska, Grażyna Szapołowska, and Agata Buzek.
TOFIFEST is also known for its numerous awards honoring artists, including the Golden Angels for “creative rebellion.” This year’s recipients are Agata Kulesza and Tomasz Schuchardt, as well as international cinema icon Nastassja Kinski, famous for her title role in Roman Polański’s Tess. The Golden Angel for “Lady of Polish Cinema” will be presented to Dorota Stalińska, who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of her artistic career. Meanwhile, Toruń-born Bogusław Linda, one of Poland’s most popular actors, will receive the Thorunium Medal, the highest distinction awarded by the Mayor of Toruń.
All award recipients will attend the festival, and organizers expect nearly 200 artists and film industry professionals in total. Most of them will participate in open meetings with audiences.
“We are proud to have assembled such a broad spectrum of film productions and so many outstanding guests,” said festival director Kafka Jaworska.
The 24th edition of BellaTOFIFEST will run until 3 July. Screenings will take place at the Jordanki Cultural and Congress Centre, Cinema City, the Artus Court Cultural Centre, and an open-air cinema operating at four locations.
This year’s festival theme is Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys. The opening film will be No Good Men by Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat.
The Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Self-Government is the festival’s main partner. Ahead of the event, the first issue of our magazine Filmowe Kujawy Pomorze was released and presented during the press conference by Edyta Macieja-Morzuch, Director of the Promotion Department at the Marshal’s Office. Readers will find extensive interviews with director Krzysztof Zanussi, producer Wojciech Gostomczyk, and Kafka Jaworska, among others.
Promotion Department of the Marshal’s Office
23 June 2026
