Vistula Film Festival 2026

On 29 May 2026, the third edition of Vistula Film Festival, organized by Vistula Movie Club, took place at Vistula University. The event started at 2:00 PM and continued into the evening, bringing together students, filmmakers, cinema enthusiasts and invited guests.

The main organizers and hosts of the event were Olaf Bojko and Aleska Ramanouskaya. The main technical crew responsible for the livestream, sound and lights included Omar Aboelfetoh, Ahmet Dalci and Abhi Upadhyay. The event was also supported by Vistula Music Club and Vistula Photography Club.

This year’s programme featured 11 short films, each up to 10 minutes long:

– “Inexorabilis”, dir. Jan Novak-Zempliński,
– “Almost Passed it”, dir. Alisa Nikitsenka,
– “Liminality”, dir. Oles Sipko,
– “Box”, dir. Eldana Nurbekova,
– “I’m no Director”, dir. Aruzhan Akhmurzina,
– “The Suitcase”, dir. Askar Tumanov,
– “وحشتيني (Wahashtini)”, dir. Aruzhan Rashid,
– “make it make sense”, dir. Iva Tretsyakova,
– “Everyone’s in it”, dir. Shamikh Gazali,
– “Swagusia”, dir. Ilona Romazanova and Alisa Nikitsenka,
– “Behind the Eyelids”, dir. Mykyta Shepelenko and Veniamin Vyrovyi.

The films were evaluated by 11 jury members representing the film industry, including directors, actors, producers, screenwriters, acting agents and a film scholar. The official partners of this year’s festival were Impact Warsaw and Cztery Sztuki. Impact Warsaw sponsored a special prize for the Best Film winners – a free Improv Acting workshop. In addition, jury member Jacek Sułek gave every team leader a book on creative writing and presented special screenwriting books to the winners of Best Screenwriting, Best Direction and Best Film.

The winners of Vistula Film Festival 2026 were:

– Best Screenplay: Oles Sipko – “Liminality”,
– Best Editing: Omar Aboelfetoh – “وحشتيني (Wahashtini)”,
– Best Cinematography: Oles Sipko – “Liminality”,
– Best Supporting Acting: Ian Klaff – “Everyone’s in it”,
– Best Direction: Aruzhan Rashid – “وحشتيني (Wahashtini)”,
– Best Music: “Liminality”,
– Best Main Acting: Rahaf Ibrahim – “وحشتيني (Wahashtini)”,
– Best Film: “وحشتيني (Wahashtini)”.

The festival also featured musical performances prepared and performed by members of Vistula Music Club. The audience heard covers of “Oscar Winning Tears”, “Ashes” from Deadpool 2, “Crash” from Mr Bean’s Holiday, “Where Is My Mind” from Fight Club, “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie, and The Beatles’ “Two of Us”. One of the most memorable moments of the opening ceremony was a speech by Rector Prof. Wawrzyniec Konarski, who surprised the audience and organizers by singing “My Rifle, My Pony and Me”.

Other notable moments included Jacek Sułek presenting books to all team leaders, Oles Sipko’s heartfelt gesture of giving paintings to the current and former presidents of Vistula Movie Club, and Mykyta Shepelenko’s energetic “I’m Just Ken” performance, which combined singing, dancing and electric guitar.

Vistula Film Festival 2026 once again showed the creativity, commitment and courage of young filmmakers. Congratulations to all participants, winners, organizers and everyone who contributed to this exceptional event.

All films presented during the festival are now available here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfrtY1OihFGx18MfJXFuXGykNOLwGD-0f

The livestream recording is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/qjRdeUHJPLQ

Event photos: