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The International Film Festival Rotterdam has unveiled the first wave of films selected for its 55th edition, slated for January 29 to February 8, 2026. Nine world premieres have been announced across its Bright Future and Harbour sections, offering a promising glimpse into daring new voices in global cinema and the diversity of contemporary storytelling.
Bright Future: Fresh Voices, Bold Debuts
The Bright Future section has always been a space where discovery feels intimate and often surprising. It’s where debut features carry hidden emotional weight, and where the freshness of vision matters more than scale.
From the Philippines, I Grew an Inch When My Father Died by P. R. Monencillo Patindol tells the story of two brothers navigating emotional wreckage left by the murder of their abusive father. It weaves a narrative steeped in grief, guilt, and fractured friendships. There’s something deeply honest when filmmakers explore trauma without romanticizing it, and this one feels deeply personal.
Let Them Be Seen by Nolitha Refilwe Mkulisi (South Africa, Germany) captures the spirit of Tapoleng, a town where the painful memories of apartheid feed into a new kind of spiritual revival. It’s an affectionate look at community memory and resilience, shaped by histories that still echo loudly in daily life. To read Gwen Stefani headlines magical 2025 Disney Christmas Parade
From India, Mayilaa by Semmalar Annam shifts the tone — a mother and daughter traveling through southern India trying to sell wares door-to-door. It’s a road movie, yes, but grounded in daily struggle and maternal strength. These understated, tender journeys often linger the most.
These three films feel like journal entries more than scripts: raw, vulnerable, and driven by a desire to connect across language and culture.
Harbour Section: Cinema That Travels Far and Deep
IFFR’s Harbour section always dares to look further. Whether it’s surreal misadventures, political thrillers, or sensory experiments, this is where cinema stretches form to find new truths.
Accept Our Sincere Apologies by Juja Dobrachkous (UK, Italy) is described as a surreal gothic fantasy set in a Venetian hotel. The idea of two women trapped in longing and fear sounds familiar, but the stylized, dreamlike exploration of identity might drift into unexpected emotional territory.
Then there’s The Passion According to GHB by Brazilian filmmakers Gustavo Vinagre and Vinicius Couto which promises a magical realist trip through the themes of desire, memory, and sexuality, all through a conversation with a fictional literary figure. This kind of bold, philosophical storytelling excites me — deeply queer and uninterested in neat resolutions. To read Toho expands into Europe with bold anime distribution moves
Earth Song by Erol Mintaş (Finland, Germany) introduces a Kurdish woman uneasily rooted in Finland and uncovering difficult family truths. The themes of displacement, memory and exile feel especially urgent right now in the world, and I can already sense how cold landscapes mirror internal desolation.
If cinema can be a scalpel as much as a mirror, then Art Is Dark and Full of Horrors by Artemio Narro (Mexico) feels right at home. It satirizes Mexico’s elite art world through chaos, social masks, and downfall — a critique disguised as a comedy, no doubt with knives out.
Hanung Bramantyo’s The Hole, 309 Days to the Bloodiest Tragedy (Indonesia) brings political urgency to the screen. An army officer investigates violent crimes across Jakarta and stumbles upon corruption within military ranks. With Southeast Asian politics rarely represented this directly, it’s exciting to see this kind of genre storytelling front and center.
Finally, Krakatoa by Carlos Casas (Spain, UK, Poland, France) seems like an experience more than a film — a meditative, sensory voyage following a Javanese fisherman during a massive volcanic eruption. If done right, these kinds of films overwhelm you with sound, silence, and atmosphere. They stay with you long after.
- Debut works tackling grief, resilience, and day-to-day survival (Bright Future)
- Politically-engaged thrillers and art-world satires (Harbour)
- Experimental and poetic approaches to identity and place
- A strong global presence, with films from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America
A Festival Committed to Risk and Discovery
Vanja Kaludjercic, the festival’s director, sees this first step as proof that IFFR continues to champion unfiltered, courageous storytelling. That makes sense. Looking at this list, it’s not about big names or red-carpet moments — it’s about filmmakers taking risks, not just stylistically, but emotionally. That’s what IFFR has always been about.
As someone who often watches more than I live (admittedly), these early selections remind me of why I always keep an eye on Rotterdam in January. Not for headlines, but for heartbeats behind the camera.
