Kraków Film Festival will present acclaimed filmmaker Kim Longinotto with its prestigious 2026 Dragon of Dragons Award, alongside a major retrospective celebrating her groundbreaking documentaries and lasting impact on generations of nonfiction filmmakers.
“I am proud that our most important award will go to an outstanding artist who has consistently placed women at the centre of her work, often well ahead of contemporary trend,” says Krzysztof Gierat, Chair of the Programme Council of the Kraków Film Festival.
A longtime member of the WMM community, Longinotto’s work has been championed and distributed by Women Make Movies for decades. The WMM collection includes 17 of her films, among them the acclaimed SISTERS IN LAW, the audience favorite SHINJUKU BOYS and the hilarious and heartbreaking DIVORCE IRANIAN STYLE.
Well known for making films that highlight the plight of female victims of oppression or discrimination, Longinotto studied camera and directing at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, England, where she now tutors occasionally. She began her career with PRIDE OF PLACE, a critique of the Draconian, all-girls boarding school she attended in her youth. She has received a number of awards for her films over the years, including a BAFTA for PINK SARIS.
The retrospective of her work at Kraków offers audiences a rare opportunity to experience Longinotto’s extraordinary body of work on the big screen and celebrate a career that has helped redefine documentary filmmaking. She will offer a masterclass and participate on a panel, with fellow filmmakers and WMM Executive Director Debra Zimmerman – Before the Producer Comes, or about the loneliness of the director.
