A new chapter for Five Flavours: anniversary edition, team updates and future plans
An important moment lies ahead of us – this year, Five Flavours will celebrate its 20th edition. Alongside this anniversary comes a new chapter in the history of the Arteria Foundation, the organiser of the festival. Not long ago, while welcoming the Year of the Fire Horse, we wrote about the energy of change and new perspectives. Today, we are pleased to share news about the further development of our team.
The 20th edition of Five Flavours will take place from November 10 to December 6.
Katarzyna Koślacz takes on the role of Executive Director of the Foundation. A cultural studies graduate and production manager with more than 12 years of experience in managing projects in the cultural and entertainment sectors, she previously produced the 14th and 15th editions of Five Flavours. Her return to the team will strengthen the Foundation’s strategic development.
Łukasz Mańkowski becomes Artistic Director of the festival. Associated with Five Flavours since 2016, he is a Japanologist, film critic, and programme curator of the festival. His expertise and long-standing collaboration with Five Flavours will ensure the continuation of the festival’s curatorial vision and its ongoing focus on the most exciting developments in contemporary Asian cinema.
Joining the programming team is Lucyna Szczykutowicz, a sinologist and Taiwan specialist currently pursuing her PhD at National Taiwan Normal University. Her research focuses on the relationships between film, language, history, and identity in contemporary Taiwanese gangster cinema.
The festival programme is also shaped by Marcin Krasnowolski, well known to Five Flavours audiences, a film scholar specialising in genre cinema from South Korea, Hong Kong, and China.
Maja Pielak remains Festival Producer and Coordinator of International Relations. An ethnologist and cultural studies graduate, she has been involved with the festival since 2011.
Festival founder Jakub Królikowski returns to an active organisational and curatorial role as President of the Foundation. Together with Anna Mamińska and Katarzyna Koślacz, he forms the board of the Arteria Foundation.
These developments are part of our broader plans to expand the Foundation’s activities. We aim to further develop educational, film, and cultural projects that bring the cultures of East, Southeast, and South Asia closer to Polish audiences – both during the festival and throughout the year. Through art and cinema, we want to continue creating space for dialogue between Asia and Europe, inspiring audiences to discover new perspectives and nurturing curiosity about the world. We look forward to sharing more about the new initiatives currently in development.
This team – together with our long-standing collaborators, partners, and invaluable volunteers – is already working on the jubilee 20th edition of Five Flavours and the festival’s future editions. Together, we are preparing a programme full of cinematic discoveries, encounters, and journeys through Asian cinema, alongside new initiatives that will continue to strengthen the festival community throughout the year.
Thank you for being part of Five Flavours over the years and for helping us create this unique space for encounters with cinema and the cultures of Asia.
