BRATISLAVA: British production sound mixer Chris Munro, American special effects artist Shane Mahan, and Lithuanian director Andrius Blaževičius are among the international guests of the 13th edition of the Visegrad Film Forum (VFF), which will take place in Bratislava from 11 to 14 March 2026.
The four-day event will once again offer masterclasses, workshops and in-depth discussions with leading film professionals, providing audiences with rare insight into the creative processes behind major Hollywood productions and acclaimed festival titles.
Chris Munro, a two-time Academy Award winner, ranks among the world’s leading production sound mixers. Over a career spanning more than five decades, he has worked on films such as Black Hawk Down, Gravity and Casino Royale, as well as several instalments of the Mission: Impossible franchise. He has collaborated with directors including Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott and Alfonso Cuarón. His masterclass will shed light on the role of sound in shaping immersive cinematic storytelling.
Shane Mahan is known for his work in practical and special effects on globally successful franchises such as The Terminator, Predator and Iron Man, as well as on the Academy Award-winning The Shape of Water. Specialising in practical effects and character creation, Mahan has contributed to building some of contemporary cinema’s most iconic figures, combining craftsmanship, technology and imagination.
Lithuanian filmmaker Andrius Blaževičius has established himself as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Baltic cinema. Following the success of The Saint (produced by Lithuania’s M-Films coproduced by Poland’s No Sugar Films) and Runner (produced by M-Films and coproduced by Bionaut), he gained further international recognition with his latest feature How to Divorce During the War. Produced by M-Films and coproduced by Red Lion, Feline Films and Bionaut, the film premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where Blaževičius received the Directing Award.
The programme will also feature other prominent European filmmakers, including German production designer Uli Hanisch, German-Romanian documentary filmmaker Alexander Nanau, and 
Hungarian director György Pálfi.
A traditional part of the Visegrad Film Forum programme is the presentation of international film schools, accompanied by screenings attended by students. Participating institutions include the Academy of Performing Arts, Film and TV Faculty in Bratislava (VŠMU), the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), the Lodz Film School (Poland), the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film State University (Georgia), theUniversity of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest (Hungary), and the University of Television and Film Munich (Germany).
Since 2019, the Visegrad Film Forum has closely collaborated with the FEBIOFEST Bratislava International Festival and purchased accreditations are valid for both events.
The Visegrad Film Forum is organised by Boiler NGO, and co-organised by the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU) and nutprodukce in partnership with Creative Europe Desk Slovakia and the Slovak Film Institute. VFF is supported by the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, the International Visegrad Fund, and FilmEU.
