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Belfast Film Festival · 2026

Belfast Film Festival 2026

New Cinema

Programme

9 films · 5 reviews

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All Of A Sudden (Soudain)

Review preview for All Of A Sudden

Hamaguchi’s most pointed provocation is not that the nursing home becomes excessive in its care, but that ordinary neglect has trained us to see basic tenderness as excess.

Edin Custo · 3.5 out of 5
The director of a nursing home in Paris has an encounter with a terminally ill Japanese playwright that transforms her life.

(Country: Japan, France, Belgium, Germany; Year: 2026; Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi; Writer: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Léa Le Dimna; Stars: Virginie Efira, Tao Okamoto, Kyōzō Nagatsuka, Kodai Kurosaki, Jean-Louis Garçon, Marie Bunel, Jean-Charles Clichet, Margot Maricot, Lazare Gousseau, Jérôme Chappatte, Evelyne Istria, Elisabeth Tamaris, Aurélia Petit, Heidi Becker-Babel)

Full review

Coward

Soldiers try to keep their hope alive on the frontline in the First World War.

(Country: Belgium, France, Netherlands; Year: 2026; Director: Lukas Dhont; Writer: Lukas Dhont, Angelo Tijssens; Stars: Valentin Campagne, Emmanuel Macchia, Jonas Wertz)

The Dreamed Adventure

n the border region between Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, a woman agrees to a deal to help an old acquaintance with dangerous consequences.

(Country: Germany, France, Austria, Bulgaria; Director: Valeska Grisebach; Stars: Syuleyman Alilov Letifo, Yana Radeva, Velko Frandev)

Enjoy Your Stay

To avoid losing custody of her six-year-old daughter in Manila, Luz, an undocumented Filipina cleaner working in a luxury Swiss ski resort, must earn money at any cost – even if it means transgressing her own moral limits.

(Country: Switzerland, France, Philippines; Year: 2026; Director: Dominik Locher, Honeylyn Joy Alipio; Stars: Mercedes Cabral, Alexis Manenti, Anna Luna, Hasmine Killip)

How To Divorce During The War

In Vilnius in 2022, Marija has a revelation that she wants to divorce her husband, Vytas, right before Russia invades Ukraine. Forced to confront their crumbling relationship, they navigate the process of divorce as it collides with the ongoing war.

(Country: Lithuania, Luxembourg, Ireland, Czech Republic; Year: 2026; Director: Andrius Blaževičius; Writer: Andrius Blaževičius; Stars: Marius Repšys, Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė, Amelija Adomaitytė, Gintare Parulyte, Indrė Patkauskaitė)

A Long Winter

Review preview for A Long Winter

Worse than incomplete, Haigh's film lacks a fully developed soul. This is in spite of striking aesthetic moments and sharply written scenes complemented by strong performances from the cast.

Paul Risker · 2.5 out of 5
Returning to his childhood home deep in the mountains, Mike is drawn back into the quiet rituals of family life as the clan prepares for the winter ahead.

(Country: UK, Canada; Year: 2026; Director: Andrew Haigh; Writer: Andrew Haigh; Stars: Fred Hechinger, Caitríona Balfe, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Kit Connor, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Furr, Susan Serrao, Anthony Timpano, Geoff Gustafson, Camille Sullivan, Martin Freeman)

Full review

Minotaur

Review preview for Minotaur

Zvyagintsev handles this material with his familiar control: psychological realism, cold visual restraint and an aversion to overt flourish.

Edin Custo · 3 out of 5
A high-powered executive's meticulously controlled existence begins to unravel.

(Country: France, Germany, Latvia; Year: 2026; Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev; Writer: Andrey Zvyagintsev, Simon Lyashenko; Stars: Dmitriy Mazurov, Iris Lebedeva, Varvara Shmykova)

Full review

Rose

Review preview for Rose

Apart from setting the tone and maintaining it, the strongest point of Schleinzer’s filmmaking is casting and directing the actors' interactions between one another and the environment.

Marko Stojiljkovic · 4 out of 5
A woman disguises herself as a man in 17th Century Germany.

(Country: Austria, Germany; Year: 2026; Director: Markus Schleinzer; Writer: Markus Schleinzer, Alexander Brom; Stars: Sandra Hüller, Caro Braun, Marisa Growaldt (voice), Godehard Giese, Maria Dragus, Augustino Renken, Robert Gwisdek, Sven-Eric Bechtolf, Rainer Egger, Maurice Leonhard, Bastian Trost)

Full review

Wild Horse Nine

Review preview for Wild Horse Nine

Malkovich and Rockwell are magnetic.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris and Lee are dispatched from Santiago to Rapa Nui.

(Country: UK, US, Chile; Year: 2026; Director: Martin McDonagh; Writer: Martin McDonagh; Stars: John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey, Tom Waits, Mariana di Girolamo, Paola Giannini, Ailín Salas, Samuel Wayt)

Full review