Riding the Short Film Wave. Who Will Compete for Awards at the 17th FKA?

Can an attempt to get your own car back end in the kidnapping of an elderly woman? Of course. Can a trip to buy vodka, following the Pope’s ban, turn into a metaphysical odyssey? Absolutely. When entering a new relationship, can you still have a body part from your ex-partner? We’ll leave that up for discussion. One thing is certain: definitely get ready for cinema where there are no bad ideas.

This year’s selection for the Authors Spotlight International Competition proves once again that reality is far too vast to be confined to just 30 films.

This year, you’ll meet a red knight lost in the labyrinth of his own masculinity, Frania the bunny carefully preparing for her final leap, and a woman guiding tourists through radioactive terrain. A man will lose his train ticket—and probably his mind as well – while a Cuban painter will set off for a tropical Eden under the Blue Rabbit’s guidance to face a wounded velociraptor. Yes, you read that right: a velociraptor.

There’ll also be imaginary water in an empty pool, mysterious family secrets, a supermarket on the brink of disaster, and a jungle that doesn’t exist. We’ll escape reality, try to reclaim what’s been lost, and wonder if it’s possible to return to a home from which the world has just vanished.

Here are the 30 most interesting Polish and international productions by students and independent filmmakers that have been selected for this year’s Authors Spotlight International Competition. Among them are films that have already been screened at festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam, Palm Springs, and MDAG, and will now compete for awards at the 17th Kamera Akcja Festival.

The short films and animations in the competition will be screened in competition blocks during the 17th FKA from October 22 to 25, 2026. The winners will be announced during the Festival Closing Ceremony on October 25, 2026 (Sunday) at Monopolis.

The awards will be presented by three independent juries: the Main Jury, the Youth Jury, and the KNF Jury of the University of Łódź. There will also be an audience vote after each screening to determine the best short film or animation as chosen by festivalgoers.

CATEGORY: Best Short “Live Action”:

• Heads in the clouds, dir. Mieszko Chomka (Poland)
• Class Photo, dir. Arnas Balčiūnas (Lithuania)
• Frozen Lands, dir. Thomas Schira, Takeiki Flon (Belgium)
• Furia, dir. Fran Moreno Blanco, Santi Pujol Amat (Spain)
• Visiting time, dir.. Sebastian Szewczykowski (Poland)
• A short film about war, dir. Nadim Suleiman (Poland)
• The Training, dir. Monika Krupa (Poland)
• Other’s Meadows Flowers, dir. Hanna Drzazga (Poland)
• Spiritus Sanctus, dir. Michał Toczek (Poland)
• The clever plan, dir. Igor Sas (Poland)
• Freestyle, dir. Kacper Nowak-Gocławski (Poland)
• Summer Delivery, dir. Lam Can-zhao (China)
• Feel no fear with me, dir. Monika Klimkiewicz-Dudziec (Poland)
• Bad ideas, dir. Jan Bujnowski (Poland)
• Sad Men Are Hard to Look at, dir. Paulina Michta (Poland)

CATEGORY: Best Aniamtion

• Central-Mart, dir. Alicja Błaszczyńska (Poland)
• There is no jungle, dir. Marcjanna Urbańska (Poland)
• The Echoes, dir. Joanna Fuczko (Poland)
• Fanatic, dir. Mateusz Jarmulski (Poland)
• The Nest, dir. Jakub Baniak (Poland)
• Cosmogonia, dir. Karolina Chabier (Poland)
• Summer of smooth asphalt, dir. Maria Dakszewicz (Poland)
• Oh Shineth!, dir. Paweł Modzelewski (Poland)
• Frankie the rabbit’s final preparations dir. Marianna Mrozek (Poland)
• The Garden, dir. Carolina Charadán, Miguel Machado (Canada, Cuba, Mexico)
• The Shadow, dir. Petra Balekić (Croatia)
• This Is Your Captain Speaking, dir. Nienke Deutz, Digna Van Der Put (Belgium, Netherlands)
• Axles, dir. Jakub Kryszpin (Poland)
• Visit into irradiated land, dir. Anne-Sophie Girault (France)
• Wish You Were Ear, dir. Mirjana Balogh (Hungary)

The 17th Camera Action Festival will take place from October 22 to 25, 2026, in Łódź, and online from October 19 to 21, 2026, on the Think Film platform. This project is made possible thanks to funding from the City of Łódź’s budget. It is co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund—a state-administered special-purpose fund—as well as by the Polish Film Institute and the University of Łódź, the festival’s patron. The “Sound Direction” section is organized in collaboration with the Łódź Film School and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Poland. Filmweb is a partner of the section. The festival’s main partners are Monopolis, the Łódź Film School, and the Museum of Cinematography. The Camera Action Festival and the “Man in Danger” Media Festival form the “Łódź Film Festival” network.