With the end of ToruńCAMERIMAGE 2026, the world’s premier annual celebration of cinematography has come to a close. Poland’s largest film festival prides itself on shining the spotlight on directors of photography, saving each film‘s final introduction and the biggest round of applause for the artist who shaped its images. Post-screening Q&As are filled with discussions of lenses, aspect ratios, and shutter speeds as the artists gleefully get technical about the choices that give each film its distinct look.
Inevitably, the festival’s awards focus on cinematography as well. The top prize from the Main Competition is the Golden Frog, which is presented by the jury to the cinematographer of the winning film. The competition was filled with major films that played Cannes, Venice, and Toronto and have Best Cinematography Oscar glory in their sights. Other awards announced throughout the festival honored cinematography work in TV, documentaries, music videos, and short films. The festival also included the FilmLight Colour Awards, led by jury president Sean Price Williams, which highlighted achievements in color grading.
This year’s Main Competition Golden Frog went to “Fatherland,” Paweł Pawlikowski’s stunning black-and-white portrait of Thomas Mann’s tour of postwar Europe. The award went to cinematographer Łukasz Żal, while Pawlikowski received a special mention for directing. The Golden Frog for Documentary Features was “To Hold a Mountain.”
The Main Competition was headed by Joe Walker, a frequent Denis Villeneuve and Steve McQueen collaborator who edited all three “Dune” movies, “Arrival,” “Sicario,” and “12 Years a Slave.”
The complete list of award winners from ToruńCAMERIMAGE 2026 can be found below.
Film
Main Competition
Golden Frog — “Fatherland”
Cinematographer: Łukasz Żal
Golden Frog Special Mention for Director: Paweł Pawlikowski
Silver Frog — “Woman Unknown”
Cinematographer: Jasper J. Spanning
Silver Frog Special Mention for Director: May El-Toukhy
Bronze Frog — “Minotaur:
Cinematographer: Mikhail Krichman
Bronze Frog Special Mention for Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Polish Film Competition
Golden Frog: “A Free Woman”
Cinematographer: Alan Ruczyński
Golden Frog Special Mention for Directors: Eliza Godlewska and Alan Ruczyński
Directors’ Debuts Competition
Golden Frog: “Atlantic Rhapsody”
Golden Frog for Best Director’s Debut: Kaifeng Zhong
Cinematographers’ Debuts Competition
Golden Frog: “Effi O Blaenau”
Golden Frog for Best Cinematographer’s Debut: Eira Wyn Jones
Documentary Features Competition
Golden Frog: “To Hold a Mountain”
Golden Frog for Best Documentary Feature: Eva Kraljević
Documentary Shorts Competition
Golden Frog: “Chuura”
Golden Frog for Best Documentary Short: Maxim Arbugaev and Vladimir Egorov
TV
TV Series Competition
Golden Frog: “Silent Night”
Golden Frog for Best TV Episode: Maciej Sobieraj
Golden Frog Special Mention for Director: Jan Holoubek
FilmLight Colour
Theatrical Feature: “Bugonia” — Greg Fisher (Company 3)
TV Series/Episodic: “Lord of the Flies” — Aidan Farrell (The Farm Post Production)
Spotlight and Documentary: “The President’s Cake” — Andu Radu (Abator)
Commercial: North Face, “Defy Easy” — Nadia Khairat Gómez
Emerging Talent: Kidsuper SS26, “The Boy Who Jumped the Moon” — Imri Agmon (S EC Studio)
