One of the most important international festivals dedicated to auteur and experimental cinema, the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will take place from January 29 to February 8, with a French film delegation of around twenty personalities already announced.
The 2026 edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam will feature twelve French films (including minority-French co-productions) in the Limelight section, including new features by Rémi Bezançon (Murder in the Building) and Guillaume Nicloux (Mi amor), which will enjoy their world premieres. Also worth noting are the presentations of Hugo by Pascal Bonitzer and A Survivor's Tale by Micha Wald in the Harbour strand.
French actress Ariane Labed will be a member of the Tiger Competition jury, director of photography Yorick Le Saux will receive the Robby Muller Award, and a conversation between actresses Hiam Abbass and Valeria Golino about their respective international careers will take place on February 1.
The artistic delegation linked to French films or French co-productions will be composed (subject to change) of Olivier Assayas, Yorick Le Saux, Micha Wald, Malek Bensmaïl, Hiam Abbass, Dali Benssalah, Nabil Asli, Pascal Bonitzer, Nicolas Becker, Roy Cohen, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Sergei Loznitsa, Guillaume Nicloux, Pom Klementieff, Irène Drésel, Annemarie Jacir, Mario Martone, Ildiko Enyedi, Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, Mario Martone, Valeria Golino, and Filmsaaz.
Unifrance is hosting its traditional dinner on January 31, by invitation only.
The organization has also again partnered with the Rotterdam Lab program, sending a delegation of two French producers: Constance Le Scouarnec for Anna Films, and Cosme Bongrain for Goodseed Productions.
Initiated by the Institut Français in the Netherlands, in partnership with the Ambassade de France in Belgium, the Institut Français in Luxemburg, and Unifrance, the French XR in Benelux program will take place during IFFR, between January 30 and February 1, 2026.
Finally, director Alice Douard, one of the winners of the first edition of the Tomorrow in Sight label created by Unifrance, will participate in the round table discussion ‘IFFR Pro Dialogue: Tomorrow in Sight – Making the Personal Political’ on 2 February. This panel explores how filmmakers harness bold storytelling and distinctive aesthetic choices to engage with urgent social realities and proposed social evolutions.
French films at IFFR 2026
Limelight
- Murder in the Building by Rémi Bezançon
- Mi amor by Guillaume Nicloux
- The Wizard of the Kremlin by Olivier Assayas
- The Stranger by François Ozon
- Palestine 36 by Annemarie Jacir
- Two Prosecutors by Sergei Loznitsa
- The Little Sister by Hafsia Herzi
- Father Mother Sister Brother by Jim Jarmusch (minority-French co-production)
- Silent Friend by Ildiko Enyedi (minority-French co-production)
- The Secret Agent by Kleber Mendonça Filho (minority-French co-production)
- Fuori by Mario Martone (minority-French co-production)
- Gavagai by Ulrich Köhler (minority-French co-production)
Bright Future
Big Screen Competition
Harbour
- Hugo by Pascal Bonitzer
- A Survivor's Tale by Micha Wald
- Calle Málaga by Maryam Touzani
- Far From Maine by Roy Cohen
- Sundays by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (minority-French co-production)
- Landmarks by Lucrecia Martel (minority-French co-production)
- Conrad & Crab – Idiotic Gems by Claude Schmitz (minority-French co-production)
- Sirât by Oliver Laxe (minority-French co-production)
- A Useful Ghost by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (minority-French co-production)
- Heart of Light: Eleven Songs for Fiji by Cynthia Beatt (minority-French co-production)
Education
- Where the Wind Comes From by Amel Guellaty (minority-French co-production)
Cinema Regained
Short Films - Tiger Awards Competition
- The Tragic Movement of the Spheres by Simon Rieth
- Cul-de-sac! by Clyde Gates and Gabriel Sanson
- Home Is Where the Heart Is by Timothée Engasser
- like moths to light by Gala Hernández López
Short Films and Mid-Length Features
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International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) - 2026
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