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Festivals

10 to watch at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2026

As this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival gets under way, we pick out 10 recommendations from a programme that embraces the thrill of the new with a stack of world premieres from early-career directors.

By Josh Slater-Williams

10 to watch at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2026

Festivals

Familiar Touch: a lovingly told coming-of-old-age film

By Ela Bittencourt

Familiar Touch: a lovingly told coming-of-old-age film

Festivals

The Dreamed Adventure: Valeska Grisebach’s haunting slow-burn western unearths dirty dealings in rural Bulgaria

By Savina Petkova

The Dreamed Adventure: Valeska Grisebach’s haunting slow-burn western unearths dirty dealings in rural Bulgaria

Festivals

Bitter Christmas: Pedro Almodóvar makes himself the butt of the joke in a slippery meta drama

By Jessica Kiang

Bitter Christmas: Pedro Almodóvar makes himself the butt of the joke in a slippery meta drama

Festivals

Minotaur: Andrey Zvyagintsev’s beautifully sinister Chabrol adaptation dissects Russian authoritarianism

By Jessica Kiang

Minotaur: Andrey Zvyagintsev’s beautifully sinister Chabrol adaptation dissects Russian authoritarianism

Festivals

Parallel Tales: Asghar Farhadi plays with ideas of artistic voyeurism in a frustratingly opaque French-language drama

By Tara Brady

Parallel Tales: Asghar Farhadi plays with ideas of artistic voyeurism in a frustratingly opaque French-language drama

Festivals

A Man of His Time: Emmanuel Marre’s daring World War II drama explores the dark side of bureaucratic ambition

By Thomas Flew

A Man of His Time: Emmanuel Marre’s daring World War II drama explores the dark side of bureaucratic ambition

Festivals

All of a Sudden: Hamaguchi questions philosophies of care in a radically tender and enriching drama

By Nicolas Rapold

All of a Sudden: Hamaguchi questions philosophies of care in a radically tender and enriching drama

Festivals

Fjord: curiously underdeveloped addition to Cristian Mungiu’s body of work explores religious persecution in a small Scandinavian town

By Sophie Monks Kaufman

Fjord: curiously underdeveloped addition to Cristian Mungiu’s body of work explores religious persecution in a small Scandinavian town

Festivals

Gabin: remarkable documentary captures a boy’s coming of age in a changing French farming community

By Katie McCabe

Gabin: remarkable documentary captures a boy’s coming of age in a changing French farming community

Festivals

Paper Tiger: Adam Driver brings a dangerous charm to James Gray’s tense crime thriller

By John Bleasdale

Paper Tiger: Adam Driver brings a dangerous charm to James Gray’s tense crime thriller

Festivals

“When you look at the roles I played, I made a difference in every movie”: Bruce Dern on his life in film

By Nicolas Rapold

“When you look at the roles I played, I made a difference in every movie”: Bruce Dern on his life in film

Festivals

Her Private Hell: Nicolas Winding Refn’s gory neon fairytale puts style before substance

By Giovanni Marchini Camia

Her Private Hell: Nicolas Winding Refn’s gory neon fairytale puts style before substance

Festivals

Fatherland: Thomas Mann takes a postwar roadtrip in Paweł Pawlikowski’s brisk and beautiful father-daughter drama

By Nicolas Rapold

Fatherland: Thomas Mann takes a postwar roadtrip in Paweł Pawlikowski’s brisk and beautiful father-daughter drama

Festivals

I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning: the British housing crisis is ever present in Clio Barnard’s touching story of a Birmingham friendship group

By B. Ruby Rich

I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning: the British housing crisis is ever present in Clio Barnard’s touching story of a Birmingham friendship group

Festivals

Hope: a big, bold South Korean creature feature

By John Bleasdale

Hope: a big, bold South Korean creature feature

Festivals

Sheep in the Box: a jarringly sentimental exploration of AI and grief

By Mark Asch

Sheep in the Box: a jarringly sentimental exploration of AI and grief

Festivals

The Wizard of the Kremlin: a westernised take on Putin’s rise to power

By Travis Jeppesen

The Wizard of the Kremlin: a westernised take on Putin’s rise to power

Festivals

The Blue Trail: a senior citizen flees dystopian Brazil for a freewheeling Amazonian adventure

By Sam Wigley

The Blue Trail: a senior citizen flees dystopian Brazil for a freewheeling Amazonian adventure

Festivals

Pompei: Below the Clouds: documentary tribute to Naples is filled with sepulchral melancholy

By Nick James

Pompei: Below the Clouds: documentary tribute to Naples is filled with sepulchral melancholy

Festivals

“People crave being in the dark together”: Bill Morrison looks back on Decasia and the shift to digital memory

By Georgia Korossi

“People crave being in the dark together”: Bill Morrison looks back on Decasia and the shift to digital memory

Festivals

International cinema, local roots: what to watch at Borderlines Film Festival 2026

By Ali Lalfam

International cinema, local roots: what to watch at Borderlines Film Festival 2026

Festivals

Queen at Sea: a nuanced and unshowy drama about the moral dilemmas that arise with dementia

By Rachel Pronger

Queen at Sea: a nuanced and unshowy drama about the moral dilemmas that arise with dementia

Festivals

No Good Men: A smartly observed political rom-com set in Afghanistan

By Meenakshi Shedde

No Good Men: A smartly observed political rom-com set in Afghanistan

Festivals

Josephine: a harrowing child’s eye view of the injustice faced by sexual assault survivors

By Rachel Pronger

Josephine: a harrowing child’s eye view of the injustice faced by sexual assault survivors

Festivals

Rose: Sandra Hüller is quietly mesmerising in this gender-defying German period drama

By John Bleasdale

Rose: Sandra Hüller is quietly mesmerising in this gender-defying German period drama

Festivals

Rosebush Pruning: strong performances and stylish visuals can’t save this hollow skewering of the ultra-rich

By Jonathan Romney

Rosebush Pruning: strong performances and stylish visuals can’t save this hollow skewering of the ultra-rich

Festivals

What to watch at Glasgow Film Festival 2026

By Ali Lalfam

What to watch at Glasgow Film Festival 2026

Festivals

The Arab: this symbolic tale of post-revolution Algeria is a powerful update to Camus

By Travis Jeppesen

The Arab: this symbolic tale of post-revolution Algeria is a powerful update to Camus

Festivals

Variations on a Theme: Rotterdam’s Tiger Competition winner explores the beauty of everyday life in a remote South African community

By John Bleasdale

Variations on a Theme: Rotterdam’s Tiger Competition winner explores the beauty of everyday life in a remote South African community