The individual section regulations and deadlines are:
1. national competition open to films made in Poland with a running time of:
- documentary films - 60 minutes or less
- documentary films - more than 60 minutes
- animated films - 30 minutes or less
- feature films - 30 minutes or less
2. international short film competition open to documentary, animated and feature films with a running time of 30 minutes or less.
3. international documentary film competition open to documentaries with a running time of:
- 30 to 60 minutes - medium-length documentaries
- more than 60 minutes - feature-length documentaries
Polish producers submit their films only to the national competition. The Selection Committee decide about Polish films which will participate in the international competitions. A Polish premiere is required only in international documentary competition, in the two other competition sections it is not required, but preference is given to the films that have not been theatrically released or screened at any festival in Poland before the 52nd KFF.
Only films completed after 1 January 2010 are eligible for competitions.
Selection deadlines:
- 30 November 2011 for films completed before 31 August 2011
- 10 February 2012 for films completed after 31 August 2011