20 YEARS OF KFF INDUSTRY - A MEETING PLACE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKERS
KFF Industry takes place every year in the last week of May. It is a unique event where representatives of the short documentary and animation industry from all over the world come together for several days to seek new contacts, sources of funding, projects to collaborate or simply to exchange experiences. Emerging filmmakers or producers will have the opportunity to consult and develop their film projects under the guidance of world-class experts from around the globe. For the more experienced, they can find co-producers, financial partners or give good advice to younger colleagues.
We started modestly, with a small market in 2006,’ says Katarzyna Wilk, director of KFF Industry. – At that time, festival-goers were able to view the films submitted to the market and meet their authors at several video booths. We wanted to create a modern and important event in Krakow, where the Polish film industry could meet foreign decision-makers. When we launched the Krakow Film Fair in 2006, I was sure that this event had great potential and was much needed by the Polish film industry,” adds Barbara Orlicz-Szczypuła, initiator of KFF Industry and president of the Krakow Film Foundation. – Our aim was to support Polish film community and promote local cinema. We wanted to learn best practices,” adds Katarzyna Wilk, “and together with Basia Orlicz we watched how our industry-leading colleagues from the Canadian Hot Docs Forum or IDFA Industry in Amsterdam did it. Very quickly we were able to create a thriving platform for meetings, presentations and the exchange of ideas.
The idea that has always guided KFF Industry has been the promotion of the Polish film industry. That is why the first pitching events we organised in the following years – Animated in Poland and Docs to Go – were solely presentations of Polish animation and documentary projects. “There was no pitching of animation projects in Poland, nor were there too many other industry events dedicated to animation. However, more and more interesting original animation films were being created. We wanted to give them a chance to present themselves to the international film industry and open a wider window to the world. Animated in Poland started as a small presentation of projects and has grown into a two-day event. – Marta Świętek, curator of the animated section at KFF Industry, points out. It was similar with documentaries. That’s why, on the initiative of and in cooperation with the Polish Film Institute, we started presenting Polish documentary projects in the final stages of production, in order to make it easier for them to take off at the festival,” adds Katarzyna Wilk.
More than ten years ago, the Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation and the Association of Polish Animation Producers joined the group of partners and co-organisers. In this way, KFF Industry has been enriched by several key elements of the programme: Talent Market serving to establish cooperation between renowned production studios and budding filmmakers in the industry, Doc Lab Poland workshops culminating in two pitching sessions (Docs to Go has been joined by Docs to Start – a presentation of projects at an early stage of production) and CEDOC – an international co-production market where every year more than 30 projects from all over the world seek partners and additional funding. ‘Together – the Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation and KFF Industry – we are able to offer Polish documentary filmmakers access to the most important experts and professionals from all over the world and support projects in their international career,’ notes Adam Ślesicki, director of Doc Lab Poland, “The interest of foreign producers in our market is also growing every year. When we started working together 11 years ago, I probably didn’t even think we would achieve such great results: around 240 projects developed at Doc Lab Poland, of which over 130 films have already been produced, and over 300 projects presented at CEDOC. I feel that we are really making a big impact on Polish documentary and we will continue to do so.”
A key partner of KFF Industry since its beginning has been the Polish Filmmakers Association, which has supported the development of the Krakow Film Market and the annual Krakow event, which hosts the traditional Forum – meetings and discussions on current issues related to the animation and documentary community.
Today, KFF Industry is six days of workshops, presentations, conferences, project pitches, co-production meetings and nearly a thousand individual meetings between filmmakers and experts. “We are very pleased with the growing popularity of our event each year. Every year we have more than a thousand accredited industry guests, almost 400 of them from abroad,” says Katarzyna Wilk, “and we also host a large number, almost 100, of decision-makers and experts – selectors of the most important film festivals, sales agents, distributors and online platforms, representatives of TV stations, film funds or recognised producers. Over the years, KFF Industry’s regular guests have included representatives from major film festivals such as Berlinale, Sundance, Cannes, Locarno, Venice, IDFA, Hot Docs, Dok Leipzig, Visions du Reel, CPH: DOX, Clermont-Ferrand, Tampere, Kaboom Animations FF, Anima Brussels, Anifilm, POFF Shorts, Uppsala ISFF, Go Short, Valladolid, Animafest Zagreb or Filmfest Dresden and many others looking for projects and films to screen at their events in Krakow.
“I am very pleased that, thanks to the many ideas implemented over the past 20 years and the work of the entire team, KFF Industry is going from strength to strength and is a model for other festivals to follow. We continue to evolve by following global trends, the needs of filmmakers and the expectations of the audiences that the films consulted and developed during KFF Industry will ultimately reach,” adds Barbara Orlicz-Szczypuła.
And what is happening this year?
This year’s programme promises to be as interesting as ever. Animators and documentarians can expect the usual programme highlights, but also new and interesting panel discussions and presentations. For animation creators, there will be a pitching session called Animated in Poland, where international guests will be able to learn about the latest Polish animation productions, and – prepared in cooperation with the SPPA – a Talent Market, which will connect the professional paths of production studios with students and adepts of artistic faculties. A master class will be held by this year’s Dragon of Dragons Award winner, the renowned French animator Jean-François Laguionie.
Polish documentary filmmakers will present their latest projects during two pitching sessions – Docs to Start and Docs to Go – which will conclude the workshops co-organised by the Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation, Doc Lab Poland. International producers will have the opportunity to discuss their projects with world-class experts and establish new collaborations during the next edition of the CEDOC Market. For the third time there will be co-production meetings of the V4 – the Visegrad countries – and a meeting dedicated to the realisation of VR and XR projects. Representatives of film festivals and sales agents present at the festival will be available for talks during the KFF Industry Meetings networking event, while a panel co-organised by Creative Europe Desk Poland will talk about their work, how they search for films, what guides them in selecting them and what trends are currently observable on the international market. This year we are also planning panel discussions on green practices in the media (in cooperation with GEM) and on institutional support for the production and distribution of documentaries (with the participation of the Polish Film Institute, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, TVP and KIPA, among others). There will also be the traditional meetings of documentary filmmakers and animators, prepared in cooperation with the Polish Filmmakers Association. A new feature this year will be case studies. These are meetings with the creators and producers of Polish films presented in the competitions of the Krakow Film Festival.
KFF Industry will take place from May 26th to – 31st.
KFF Industry 2025:
Partners: Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation , SPPA –Polish Animation Producers Association, KIPA – Polish Producers Alliance, TVP, KBF – Krakow Festival Office, Krakow Film Commission, Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Krakow Technology Park – Multilab, Fixafilm, Sound Mind, Crew United, Scottish Documentary Institute, UK British Council, DAE – Documentary Association of Europe, GEM: Green Education in Media, Young Horizons Industry
Partners of KFF Video Library są: DOK Leipzig, Institute of Documentary Films, Festival dei Popoli, Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
Project co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, Visegrad Fund, Ministry of Culture and National Herritage, Polish Filmmakers Association and The Municipality of Krakow
Co-organiser: Creative Europe Desk Polska
Media Patrons: Business Doc Europe, Modern Times Review, Film&TV Camera, Magazyn Filmowy SFP, Polish Docs, Polish Shorts, Polish Animations
Organiser and producer of the KFF Industry is Krakow Film Foundation. The event takes place during 65. Krakow Film Festival.