The International Short Film Competition is a space for short films of various genres and countries of origin. The jury of the competition awards the main prize for the best short film. Every year, the section presents dozens of short films that offer a concentrated film experience and often serve as a springboard for beginning creators.
said the artistic director of the festival Martin Palúch.
Maciej Gil – film historian and promoter of film culture
Maciej Gil (Poland) is a film historian, film educator and long-time promoter of film culture. From 2006 to 2012, he headed the Polish Federation of Discussion Film Clubs (DKF), one of the oldest film education organizations in the country. From 2005 to 2015, he worked as the program director of the Kino na Granicy festival in Cieszyn, a cross-border Polish-Czech film event.
For his work in the field of film culture, he received the Prize of the Polish Film Institute three times. He also works as a teacher at the Polish Film Academy and the AMA Film Academy.
Mohammed Almughanni – a director connecting the Middle East and Europe
Mohammed Almughanni (Palestine/Poland) is a director and screenwriter. He comes from Gaza and received his film education at the prestigious Film School in Łódź, Poland, where he completed his bachelor’s and master’s studies. He currently lives and works in Denmark.
In his documentary and feature films, he deals with the themes of identity, displacement and human resilience. His best-known works include the documentary Shujayya and the short films Blacklisted, Son of the Streets, Falafala and An Orange from Jaffa. His films were presented and awarded at the Ji.hlava (2020), IDFA in Amsterdam (2023) and Clermont-Ferrand (2024) festivals. In 2024, he also received an award from the Prince Claus Fund, a Dutch foundation supporting culture and development.
Barbora Sliepková – one of the most talented Slovak documentary filmmakers
Barbora Sliepková (born 1993, Slovakia) is a documentary director and a graduate of the documentary directing department at the Film and Television Faculty of the University of Performing Arts in Bratislava. Already during her studies, she attracted attention with the film About my sister (2016), which won both the jury prize and the audience prize at the Febiofest festival.
Her feature debut Čiáry (2021) was an extraordinary international success – at the prestigious Ji.hlava documentary film festival, it won the main prize in the main competition, the prize for the best debut and the prize for sound design. The film was also shown at other international festivals. He is currently working on a new project with the working title Wasteland Chronicles.
Curiosities about the jury
The jury of short films at IFF Art Film 2026 brings together three different perspectives. Maciej Gil knows the short film from the position of festival organizer and cinema operator – he knows how films work in contact with the audience. Mohammed Almughanni is an active creator whose short films have traveled to dozens of festivals from Ji.hlava to Clermont-Ferrand. And Barbora Sliepková represents a new generation of Central European filmmakers – her debut Čiáry won three awards at Ji.hlava, which is an exceptional result for a first feature film. An interesting element of the jury is its international dimension: Gil from Poland is an example of cross-border film cooperation (the Kino na Granicy festival on the Polish-Czech border), Almughanni combines Palestinian roots with European film education, and Sliepková represents a Slovak documentary film that has been a significant international success in recent years.
The International Short Film Competition is one of the three competition sections of the Košice Film Festival. The 32nd edition of IFF Art Film will take place from 19 to 25 June 2026. More information and cinepasses for the festival can be found at www.iffartfilm.com.
