THE QUEEN AND THE SMOKEHOUSE

BAŁTYK

In a bustling Polish seaside town, Miecia, known as the local “Queen,” has ruled her smokehouse for over forty years. A beloved community fixture, it is a meeting place, a lifeline for some, and a small empire built on her dedication. Yet when failing health forces Miecia to step back, the future of the smokehouse and of those who depend on it begins to unravel.

Genre: Documentary
Country: Poland
Running time: 65
Year: 2025
Color: colour

Director: Iga Lis

Script: Iga Lis

DOP: Kacper Gawron

Music: Bartosz Kruczyński

Editing: Kosma Kowalczyk, Jakub Darewski

Sound: Tadeusz Chłoń

Production company: Studio Munka, Silver Frame, Canal+, MX35

Trailer

About the director:

Iga Lis is a Polish film director and a History graduate of the London School of Economics. Her films have been screened at international festivals including Palm Springs ShortFest, Camerimage, Fipadoc, Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival, Millennium Docs Against Gravity, and San Francisco Film Festival Doc Stories. Her feature-length documentary debut, The Queen and the Smokehouse, opened the 65th Krakow Film Festival and became the most-watched Polish auteur documentary of the year following its nationwide theatrical release. She is based between London and Warsaw.

At festivals:

65th Krakow Film Festival 2025, Poland, 2025 (competition)

International Film Festival EnergaCAMERIMAGE, 2025, Poland, 2025 (competition)

FIPADOC International Documentary Festival, 2026, France, 2026 (competition)

True/False Film Fest, 2026, USA, 2026 (competition)

Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival 2026, Greece, 2026 (screening)

18th Fishermen of the world Film Festival 2026, France, 2026 (Best Documentary Award)

26. goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film 2026, Germany, 2026 (competition)