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Cheltenham International Film Festival · 2026

Cheltenham International Film Festival 2026

Spotlight

Programme

9 films · 6 reviews

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La Bola Negra

Review preview for La Bola Negra

La Bola Negra was an unfinished work in a life cut short but the film named (variously) for it is extension and tribute and triumph.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
Drama exploring the inter-connected lives of three gay men.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2026; Director: Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo; Writer: Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo; Stars: Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Lola Dueñas, Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close, Lorenzo Zurzolo)

Full review

Clarissa

A modern reimagining of the Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Chuko Esiri, Arie Esiri; Writer: Chuko Esiri; Stars: Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, India Ria Amarteifio, Ayo Edebiri, Toheeb Jimoh, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Jude Akuwudike, Kehinde Cardoso, Ogranya, Danny Sapani, Fortune Nwafor, Modesinuola Ogundiwin, Joy Sunday, Chioma Omeruah, Joke Silva)

The Debut

Review preview for The Debut

Eisenberg’s obvious love of amateur dramatics provides The Debut with a foundation that feels akin to a warm hug.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A shy housewife is unexpectedly cast in a local am-dram original musical. Under the spell of the strong-willed and enigmatic director, she loses herself in the role.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Jesse Eisenberg; Writer: Jesse Eisenberg; Stars: Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, Halle Bailey, Havana Rose Liu, Jesse Eisenberg, Cara Buono, Bernadette Peters, Lilli Cooper, Colton Ryan, Maulik Pancholy, Eldar Isgandarov, Bonnie Milligan, Patrick Fabian, Danny McCarthy)

Full review

Elsinore

Review preview for Elsinore

Scott’s beacon of light is swallowed up by Stone and Beresford’s heavy-handedness.

Paul Risker · 3 out of 5
Account of Ian Charleson’s life, capturing the moment when he faced his own mortality as he prepared to play Hamlet at the Royal National Theatre.

(Country: Italy, UK, US; Year: 2026; Director: Simon Stone; Writer: Stephen Beresford; Stars: Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn, Luke Thompson, Peter Mullan, Monica Dolan, Juliet Stevenson, Joe Locke, Adeel Akhtar, Matthew Beard, David Dawson, Kadiff Kirwan, Dickie Beau, John Hollingworth)

Full review

Fjord

Review preview for Fjord

Mungiu’s eye moves between the juggernaut and the barely visible.

Edin Custo · 3.5 out of 5
Mihai and Lisbet Gheorghiu, a devout Romanian Norwegian couple, move from Romania to Norway with their children to be closer to Lisbet’s family. But tension mounts when one of the children arrives at school with bruises.

(Country: Romania, France, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden; Year: 2026; Director: Cristian Mungiu; Writer: Cristian Mungiu; Stars: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Giulia Nahmany, Ingvild Lien, Turid Vatne, Alin Panc, Emilie Hetland, Sofie Vartdal)

Full review

Ink

Review preview for Ink

Danny Boyle brings his customary energy to James Graham’s adaptation of his own stage play, which flies along quicker than paper through a printing press.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Drama charting Rupert Murdoch's acquisition of The Sun newspaper and its upturning of the landscape under editor Larry Lamb in 1969.

(Country: 2026; Year: 2026; Director: Danny Boyle; Writer: James Graham; Stars: Jack O'Connell, Guy Pearce, Claire Foy)

Full review

A Talent For Murder

A strange confrontation between a youthful literary agent and author Patricia Highsmith.

(Country: UK, Italy; Year: 2020; Director: Anton Corbijn; Writer: Joanna Murray-Smith; Stars: Helen Mirren, Alden Ehrenreich, Olivia Cooke)

Tender Loving Care

Review preview for Tender Loving Care

Tender Loving Care is all about the little bits of conversation that make the world a bit more comfy for others.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
In contemporary London, social workers Amy and Rosie navigate the stressors and joys of life together, be that work, family or messy dating lives.

(Country: UK, US, Singapore; Year: 2026; Director: Mike Leigh; Writer: Mike Leigh; Stars: Kate O'Flynn, Alice Bailey Johnson, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson)

Full review See: Mike Leigh and the Tender Loving Care cast on humanity and looking out for one another

Violette

A police officer becomes intrigued by the woman who tends the local cemetery, and he begins to uncover secrets about her past.

(Country: France, Italy; Year: 2026; Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet; Stars: Leïla Bekhti, Matthias Schoenaerts, Sergio Castellitto, Dominique Pinon, Melville Poupaud)