[3] The event traditionally takes place from 14 to 22 June[4][5] and includes autograph signings, discussions, musical performances, and workshops.

In reaction to the breakup of Czechoslovakia, the festival's organisers decided to create a retrospective of documentary film work throughout the Czechoslovak era.

That year, the celebrity guest of honour was British avant-garde filmmaker Peter Greenaway,[7] and the festival drew only 200–300 attendees.

[7] 1995 As time went on, the organisers became increasingly aware that limiting the festival to documentaries was an unnecessary constraint, and they consequently widened its scope.

The award has been received by numerous renowned cinema figures, including Roman Polanski, Jean-Claude Carriére, Emir Kusturica, Ettore Scola, Andrei Konchalovsky, Ulrich Seidl, Andrzej Wajda, Martin Hollý, Juraj Jakubisko, and Dušan Hanák.

[4][5] 2016 In 2016, after 23 years, Art Film Fest changed its location, moving to the second-biggest city in Slovakia, Košice.

[9] Numerous Czech, Slovak, and international actors have received the Actor's Mission trophy since the festival's inception in 1993, including Ben Kingsley, Gérard Depardieu, Jeremy Irons, Isabelle Huppert, Geraldine Chaplin, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Erland Josephson, Jacqueline Bisset, Omar Sharif, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Vlastimil Brodský, Iva Janžurová, Zdeněk Svěrák,[9] Josef Abrhám, Jozef Kroner, Juraj Kukura, and Marián Labuda.