General information: a guide
Several hundred screenings, dozens of meetings and events: the festival is a large, complex organism. In this article, we will gather the most important information to help you navigate the map of New Horizons. Below you will find a festival guide – the article will be gradually expanded, and its final version will be completed in July 2026.
Ticket and Pass
Tickets for screenings
A printed ticket is not required to make a reservation. You can also enter the screening without it—just show electronic ticket in front of the entrance (screen or its downloaded version). Remember to brighten the screen and ensure good quality of the screen / file before presenting the ticket.
note: the seats in the rooms are not numbered.
Practice makes perfect: booking system demo
Each festival attendee will receive their login in advance, which they can use to log in to the demo version of the booking system to practice "clicking" on screenings earlier.
Electronic ID: reservations and admission to screenings
A printed ID is not required to make a reservation. You can also enter the screening without it—just log in to the nowehoryzonty.pl website and show your electronic ID in front of the entrance (screen or its downloaded version). Remember to brighten the screen and ensure good quality of the screen / file before presenting the ID.
note: the seats in the rooms are not numbered.
Those who indicated their desire to use a plastic badge during the purchase of a pass or accreditation can pick them up with a photo ID from 12:00 PM on July 22 at the Festival Center and from 9:00 AM in the following days.
Audience voting (and other activities)
Take part in the audience poll by voting for films screened in the New Horizons International Competition. A QR code will be displayed in the screening room before the first two screenings of each participating film; scan the code to launch the poll website and rate the film on a scale od 1 to 5 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest). One vote per device. The link will remaing active for 60 minutes after the start and 60 minutes after the end of a screening. The film with the highest average vote (a minimum of 15 votes is required for eligibility) will receive a prize. The results of the audience poll will be annouced during the award gala. You can vote during first two screenings of competition movies.
A kaleidoscope of experiences.
Map of colorful places
New Horizons will satisfy more than just your hunger for great cinema. The rich festival program goes hand in hand with Wrocław's equally rich restaurant offer. Below you will find the list from 2025. We will update it with the latest information soon.
Accessible festival
Access to culture, including top-quality cinema, should be egalitarian and open, which is why the New Horizons International Film Festival strives to expand its accessibility activities every year. In cooperation with the Katarynka Foundation and the Kino Dostępne Foundation, we are creating culture for everyone. You are part of it, so if you notice someone who needs help climbing the stairs or finding a comfortable seat, we would be grateful for your openness and, if possible, your help.
During some screenings, a person wearing headphones with an audio description of the film may be sitting next to you, and the subtitles accompanying the screening will be the SDH ones. These are further steps in creating an accessible culture—by being welcoming, you will help to spread it.
Arsenal Festival Club
Just steps away from the New Horizons Cinema, the Festival Club at the Arsenal is where the real after-hours magic happens. It’s where we talk until dawn, dance until we drop, and spend time in the best company. Once again, this one-of-a-kind space—charged with cinematic energy—will become the beating heart of New Horizons after dark.
When the projector lights go out and cinemas take a brief pause, festival evenings become alive with DJ sets, concerts, and afterimages of film sections transformed into club experiences. Here’s your first look at what’s in store at the Festival Club during the 25th BNP Paribas New Horizons International Film Festival.
A dedicated food court will be waiting for you at the Arsenal, offering a selection of drinks along with hot food options to keep you going through the night.
The admission to Festival Club at the Arsenal is free. To enter the Festival Club, just show your festival pass, accreditation, or a ticket for any screening from that day. Friends accompanying festival participants are also welcome.
The program will also feature additional paid concerts – details will be announced in spring 2026.
Festival venues
The cinemas
The heart of New Horizons is the film program—several hundred films spread over two dozen sections can be viewed on thirteen screens at the New Horizons Cinema (19a/21 Kazimierza Wielkiego St) and the Lower Silesian Film Centre (64A Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego St), as well as at outdoor cinemas – in Wrocław's market square and at OPT Zamek in Leśnica.
Art Pigment
Artistic Scene also follows step by step the Beings of the Night, who spread a completely different vision of the world than the one we perceive during the day. For the exhibition Curtain up!/Raise the Curtain! we invite you to Studio BWA Wroclaw (Ruska 46a/301). In turn, to experience the state of “betwin” we invite you to the Ambient Room at IP Studio (46A Ruska Street, unit 401.3, 4th floor). Take a look into a colorful kaleidoscope of art. Admission to all events is free.
The Art Stace is co-organized by BWA Wroclaw. Creatures of the Night section & Raise the Curtain! exhibition are supported by the British Council under the UK/Poland Season 2025.
Outdoors!
The festival is not only hundreds of screenings in closed cinema halls—a large part of it consists of outdoor events. For evening events at the Arsenal and outdoor screenings, it is worth bringing a sweatshirt or blanket. Even though the festival takes place in the middle of summer, it can sometimes surprise us with a cool night. Umbrellas, raincoats and insect repellents are also welcome.
Let's face it: sometimes, even sitting at the cinema can give you goose bumps, so we always recommend bringing some warm clothes with you.
Luggage storage
We know that you arrive at New Horizons equipped with outfits, raincoats, appropriate footwear and other necessary items, which all together can be quite heavy! That is why we are launching a luggage storage facility for the duration of the festival, located behind room 7 on the second floor of the Nowe Horyzonty Cinema.
Opening hours:
- 23 July – 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm
- 24 July – 1 August – 9:00 am to 10:00 pm
- 2 August – 9:00 am to 8:00 pm
Items not collected by 10:00 pm will only be available for collection the following day. The staff may refuse to accept items if there is no space available. The staff is not responsible for items left in the cloakroom.
Lost and found
Everyone leaves something behind in a room or cinema from time to time.
The festival team regularly checks the rooms for lost items, which are then handed in at the box office. Have you lost something? Head to the festival box office, and after hours (or after the festival has ended) write to pomoc@nowehoryzonty.pl—we will let you know if the item has ended up in our safe hands.