The fifth edition of the Heart of Europe International TV Festival & Forum is taking place this week, from September 30 to October 3 in Warsaw. Organized by Polish Television (TVP), the event brings together public broadcasters from across Central and Eastern Europe to highlight the region’s vibrant audiovisual creativity.

The Festival features a wide range of content, including feature films, series, documentaries, entertainment formats, children’s and youth programming, and digital projects produced by public broadcasters in Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Georgia.

Building on the success of previous editions, the Festival & Forum continues to serve as a key meeting place for broadcasters, creators, producers, and industry professionals. It provides a dynamic platform for discovering the latest television productions from the CEE region, promoting original content internationally, and encouraging new co-production and distribution partnerships.

The Festival’s main competition will recognize outstanding public television productions across six categories:

• Feature Film and Series
• Documentary Film
• Short Documentary
• Entertainment
• Children & Youth
• Digital Projects

The results will be announced at the Heart of Europe Awards Gala in Warsaw on 2 October 2025. Here are the shortlisted programs:

CHILDREN AND YOUTH

• Alisa in Wonder Ice (RTS, Serbia)
• Bookteaser: Father Goriot (RTS, Serbia)
• Ela's Top Secret Diary (ČT, Czech Republic)
• For Real? (LTV, Latvia)
• Nina's Rhythm (RTS, Serbia)

DIGITAL AND ENTERTAINMENT

• Déčko’s Poetry Championship (ČT, Czech Republic)
• Delta Genesis (MTVA, Hungary)
• Farewell, Empire! (Suspilne Ukraine)
• They Say! (ČT, Czech Republic)
• UNZIP (Suspilne Ukraine)

DOCUMENTARY

• Blueberry Dreams (GPB, Georgia / RTBF, Belgium/ TENK, France)
• Dezo Hoffmann. Photographer of The Beatles (RTVS, Slovakia / ČT, Czech Republic)
• In The Rearview (TVP, Poland)
• Just Hear Me Out (TVP, Poland)
• Rundale Palace Garden. Four Seasons (LTV, Latvia)

SHORT DOCUMENTARY
• Are You There? (TVP, Poland)
• Father's Search (ČT, Czech Republic)
• First of All Human (Suspilne Ukraine)
• Troublemaking Women (ČT, Czech Republic)
• Verka's Roses (BNT, Bulgaria)

FICTION FILM

• An Actor's Theatrics (ČT, Czech Republic)
• Go Against The Flow (TVP, Poland)
• Smetana (ČT, Czech Republic)
• The Magical Apple (STVR, Slovakia / ČT, Czech Republic)
• Uncle Vanya Bubble Waltz (MTVA, Hungary)

FICTION SERIES

• Nobelist (RTS, Serbia)
• Operation Sabre (RTS, Serbia)
• Shadow Play (TVP, Poland)
• We the Waves (BNT, Bulgaria)
• Von Fock (ERR, Estonia)

In addition to the competition, the Heart of Europe Forum invites creators to submit new projects in three key areas: Fiction Film, Fiction Series, and Documentary. The Forum offers a collaborative space for pitching ideas, building co-productions, and fostering creative exchange across the region.

These projects will be pitched live in Warsaw during the Heart of Europe International TV Festival & Forum, taking place 30 September - 3 October 2025.

DOCUMENTARY

Сooperative (Ukraine)
How to Get a Whale's Tooth (Poland)
Stay Toxic (Poland)
OlymPiano: 100 Years Chopin Competition (Poland/Germany)
Becoming Christine Granville (Poland)
Good Night, Princesses (Poland)
Ruinsurrection (Poland)
Served (Poland)
Community (Poland/Iceland)
Kesaria: Beyond the Law (Georgia/Ukraine/Poland)
60 Days in Humility (Poland)

FEATURE FILM

Komputer (Poland/Lithuania)
Unfettered (Georgia/Greece/Finland/Germany)
First Ukrainian Spaceman (Ukraine/France)
Now and After (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
You Are Not Alone (Ukraine)
Naked Coast (Poland)
The Swimming Pool (Poland)
Sophie (Czech Republic/Denmark/Germany)
DVNA (Hungary)
Point Zero (Ukraine/Croatia)

TV SERIES

Little Europe (Ukraine)
The Last Divorce of Communism (Latvia/Bulgaria)
You'll Need This (Poland)
South Stream (Bulgaria/Serbia/Greece/The Netherlands)
Persona (Czech Republic)
Burning Witches (Czech Republic)
We Are Still Here (Poland)
Muma Padurii (Serbia)
Don't Tell Mum (Poland)