Last year’s first iteration had the likes of Kahlil Joseph’s BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions, Arnaud Dufeys and Charlotte Devillers’ On vous croit and Urška Djukić’s Little Trouble Girls), this year’s batch of thirteen first features (one final title might be added shortly) looks like it is on solid ground. Actor Lorenzo Ferro (2018’s El Angel and 2014’s Simon of the Mountain) gets behind the camera teaming with Lucas A.Vignale for The River Train. In a book to film adaptation from a Stewart O’Nan (David Gordon Green adapted Snow Angels) novel, Dara Van Dusen‘s A Prayer for the Dying stars Johnny Flynn and John C. Reilly and is set after the Civil War, where veteran Jacob Hansen’s hope for a new life in Friendship, Wisconsin turns into a nightmare as an epidemic forces him, as sheriff, undertaker, and pastor, to fight for his town, family, and soul. Two Sundance competition titles in Rafael Manuel‘s Filipiñana and Liz Sargent‘s Take Me Home are also in the mix.
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by Kosara Mitic | with Eva Kostic, Martina Danilovska, Dame Joveski, Eva Stojchevska, Petar Manic
North Macedonia / Serbia / Slovenia 2026
Perspectives | World premiere | Debut film
Seventeen-year-old Sara is hiding a secret on a school trip. When the trip spirals out of control and Sara witnesses a classmate’s sexual assault, she and the girl seal a bond that will last forever.
Animol
by Ashley Walters | with Tut Nyuot, Vladyslav Baliuk, Sekou Diaby, Stephen Graham, Sharon Duncan-Brewster
United Kingdom 2026
Perspectives | World premiere | Debut film
Behind the walls of a young offender institution, Troy is thrust into a brutal world of gangs, loyalty and violence from the moment he arrives. When an unspoken bond develops with a fellow inmate, it becomes a dangerous vulnerability for them.
A Prayer for the Dying
by Dara Van Dusen | with Johnny Flynn, John C. Reilly, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh
Norway / Greece / United Kingdom / Sweden 2026
Perspectives | World premiere | Debut film
In the wake of the American Civil War, veteran Jacob Hansen’s dream of a new life in Friendship, Wisconsin becomes a nightmare. As an epidemic spreads chaos, Jacob – sheriff, undertaker and pastor – must fight to save his town, his family and his soul.
Chronicles From the Siege
by Abdallah Alkhatib | with Nadeem Rimawi, Saja Kilani, Maria Zreik, Emad Azmi, Idir Benaibouche
Algeria / France / Palestine 2026
Perspectives | World premiere
When their city is placed under siege, the lives of a group of ordinary people are turned upside down, forcing each of them to confront
impossible choices in pursuit of what they believe is survival in a war zone.
Der Heimatlose (Trial of Hein)
by Kai Stänicke | with Paul Boche, Philip Froissant, Emilia Schüle, Stephanie Amarell
Germany 2026
Perspectives | World premiere | Debut film
After 14 years away, Hein returns to his home village on a remote island, only to discover that the close-knit community no longer recognizes him. Suspecting him to be an impostor, they demand a trial to determine his true identity.
El Tren Fluvial (The River Train)
by Lorenzo Ferro, Lucas A. Vignale | with Milo Barria, Rita Pauls, Mariano Barria, Fabián Casas, Lucrecia Pazos
Argentina 2026
Perspectives | World premiere | Debut film
Nine-year-old Milo lives in a remote Argentinian village where he studies the Malambo, a folk dance full of bravura. He is an excellent dancer, but Milo’s only desire is to escape the countryside on a train for the Buenos Aires of his dreams.
Filipiñana
by Rafael Manuel | with Jorrybell Agoto, Carmen Castellanos, Teroy Guzman, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, Nour Houshmand
Singapore / United Kingdom / Philippines / France / Netherlands 2026
Perspectives | European premiere | Debut film
New girl Isabel is strangely drawn to Dr. Palanca, president of the country club where she works. As she pieces together a violent picture of what lies beneath the club’s pristine surfaces, she realises that they are both connected by a sinister shared history.
Forêt Ivre (Forest High)
by Manon Coubia | with Salomé Richard, Aurélia Petit, Anne Coesens, Arthur Marbaix, Yoann Zimmer
Belgium / France 2026
Perspectives | World premiere | Debut film
In the northern Alps, Anne, Hélène and Suzanne take turns looking after a mountain hut. Through the seasons, hikers come and go.
Stories bloom and fade, leaving each of them facing the silence of their chosen solitude and the poetry of nature.
Hangar rojo (The Red Hangar)
by Juan Pablo Sallato | with Nicolás Zárate, Boris Quercia, Marcial Tagle, Catalina Stuardo, Aron Hernández
Chile / Argentina / Italy 2026
Perspectives | World premiere | Debut film
As the 1973 military coup unfolds in Chile, Air Force Captain Jorge Silva is torn between duty and conscience as his academy turns into a detention centre.
Nosso segredo (Our Secret)
by Grace Passô | with Efraim Santos, Flip, Jéssica Gaspar, Ju Colombo, Marisa Revert
Brazil / Portugal 2026
Perspectives | World premiere | Debut film
A family drifts through their home in silence, struggling to rebuild their lives after a recent loss. Each mourns alone, until the youngest child reveals a secret that enables them to realise that they must come together with love and courage to defy grief.
by Liz Sargent | with Anna Sargent, Victor Slezak, Ali Ahn, Marceline Hugot, Shane Harper
USA 2026
Perspectives | International premiere | Debut film
Anna, a 38-year-old woman with a cognitive disability, cares for her ageing adoptive parents until a Florida heatwave shatters their family’s fragile routine. This intimate drama examines the shifting demands placed on a uniquely vulnerable family.
Truly Naked
by Muriel d’Ansembourg | with Caolán O’Gorman, Andrew Howard, Alessa Savage, Safiya Benaddi, Lyndsey Marshal
Netherlands / Belgium / France 2026
Perspectives | World premiere | Debut film
An introverted teen, who has only ever experienced sex through the lens while working for his father’s pornography business, must
step out from behind the camera when a feisty classmate challenges him to embrace a real connection.
Where To?
by Assaf Machnes | with Ehab Salami, Ido Tako, Milan Peschel, Rama Nasrallah, Raheeq Haj Yahia-Suleiman
Israel / Germany 2026
Perspectives | World premiere | Debut film
Hassan, a 55-year-old Palestinian Uber driver, shuttles partygoers through endless Berlin nights. Amir, a young Israeli who is in danger of losing himself to these nights, becomes Hassan’s regular passenger when they find themselves bonded by heartbreak.
