Literature on the Border 2026 Program – What Is Power?
The theme of this year’s festival revolves around the concept of power. In a world marked by conflict, a crisis of democracy, populism, growing polarization and disinformation, the question of its essence becomes crucial. Therefore, during the literary meetings and events accompanying the Cinema on the Border festival, questions will arise about what power truly is and why it is so often equated with violence, how powerless we are in the face of aggression, manipulation and hatred, and whether power may also lie hidden in our powerlessness—as Václav Havel wrote. The ICC will be present at these discussions and meetings as a partner of the event, as well as the publisher of the magazine “Herito”, which will be available to festival participants.
The program of the 9th edition of the Literature on the Border festival will focus on the spaces “in between”—East and West, past and future, literature and film—as well as on reflections on contemporary conflicts and the sources of hatred.
The event will feature writers, as well as professionals working in the fields of reportage, poetry, journalism and feature writing. Guests will include Witold Bereś, Wojciech Bonowicz, Krzysztof Burnetko, Kevin Chen, Anna Czekanowicz, Krzysztof Czyżewski, Darek Foks, Tomáš Forró, Joanna Gierak-Onoszko, Michal Hvorecký, Wojciech Jagielski, Věra Jourová, Lenka Klicpero, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Karin Lednická, Ewa Lipska, Zbigniew Machej, Adam Michnik, Krzysztof Siwczyk, Elżbieta Sobolewska, Benedek Totth, Klára Vlasákova, Anna Wanik, Bartosz Wieliński, Katarzyna Wójcik and others.
Literature and Cinema on the Border
Literature on the Border has accompanied the Cinema on the Border festival since 2018. Over the past few years, the literary program has become an integral part of this event. Each successive edition expands both thematically and in scope—featuring over a dozen events on both sides of the Polish-Czech border, ranging from intimate conversations to large-scale debates on topics at the intersection of literature, history, sociology and politics. An important part of the program also consists of meetings with translators, who are invited to participate in discussions with guest authors. The Cinema on the Border film festival, meanwhile, has been held since 1999 and is the largest showcase of Central European cinema. This year, the festival will feature over 100 films from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The screenings will be accompanied by meetings with filmmakers, discussions, as well as concerts, exhibitions and numerous talks on both sides of the Polish-Czech border.
The festival is a Visegrad event—its participants include writers, journalists and experts from all Visegrad countries. This event creates a platform for exchanging experiences and demonstrating that the countries of Central Europe are united not only by their proximity and geopolitical circumstances, but also by history, tradition, culture and values. Among those invited to the Literature on the Border Festival so far have been, among others, Ryszard Krynicki, Radka Denemarková, Adam Michnik, Kateřina Tučková, Gábor T. Szántó, Magda Heydel, Pavol Rankov, Katarína Kucbelová, Mariusz Szczygieł, Noémi Orvos-Tóth, Antoni Kroh, and Jaroslav Rudiš.
Festival program:
