Skip to main content

Thessaloniki International Film Festival · 2026

Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2026

Next Gen

Programme

15 films · 1 review

Jump to a film

Autokar

In the 1990s, eight-year-old Agata leaves Poland for Belgium, alone and terrified, clutching a letter meant for the father she's left behind.

(Country: Belgium, France; Year: 2025; Director: Sylwia Szkiłądź; Writer: Sylwia Szkiłądź; Stars: Voices: Natalia Wolska, Anna Seniuk, Henryk Niebudek, Elżbieta Gaertner, Marcin Pempuś, Lidia Sadowa, Barbara Jonak, Mariusz Ostrowski) , Trailer

Brave Cat (Una Gata Valiente)

Kona, a teenage wildcat, lives with her mother and grandmother in the forest – the same forest where the Man, a solitary, black-clad and vengeful figure, uses trained and feral dogs to trap animals and exploit them in…

(Country: Chile; Year: 2026; Director: Gabriel Osorio; Writer: Gabriel Osorio; Stars: With the voices of: Navah Lisman, Dana Spejh, Chris Jahn, Margarita Coego, Leonor Varela)

Bytes Away From Home

A young woman drifts between the noise of the digital world and the silence of nature, drawn into a surreal encounter that forces her to question what is real, what is ‘’made up,’ and where her true self belongs.

(Country: United States; Year: 2026; Director: Nickolas Theofilos Tsironis; Writer: Nickolas Theofilos Tsironis; Stars: Molly Smith) , Trailer

Concrete Kids (Betono vaikai)

Growing up in a Soviet-era housing block, Rokas never really walked home – he survived it, one street fight and gang threat at a time.

(Country: Lithuania; Year: 2026; Director: Saulius Baradinskas; Writer: Saulius Baradinskas; Stars: Domantas Starkauskas, Kasparas Varanavičius, Arūnas Sakalauskas, Kęstutis Cicėnas, Agnė Šataitė, Algirdas Galkus) , Trailer

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe! (En, ten, týky!)

In the clouds high above Earth lies a mythical playground where the young generation of Greek goddesses, gods, and monsters come together to play.

(Country: Czech Republic, Slovakia; Year: 2026; Director: Andrea Szelesová; Writer: Andrea Szelesová) , Trailer

A Family

Same summer, same broken family, two very different ways of hurting.

(Country: Netherlands, Belgium; Year: 2026; Director: Mees Peijnenburg; Writer: Bastiaan Kroeger, Mees Peijnenburg; Stars: Celeste Holsheimer, Finn Vogels, Carice van Houten, Pieter Embrechts) , Trailer

Gugu's World (Feito Pipa)

Review preview for Gugu's World

Deberton keeps the camera close and attentive to micro-gestures

Edin Custo · 3 out of 5
Drama revolving around a little boy, with a love of football who is living with his increasingly frail gran.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2026; Director: Allan Deberton; Writer: Andre Araujo; Stars: Yuri Gomes, Lázaro Ramos, Teca Pereira, Carlos Francisco, Georgina Castro, Alda Pessoa, David Santos, Beatriz Carwile, Luan Vasconcelos, Nathyel Martins, Manuela Paulino, Pablo Vinícios, Enzo Uejo)

Full review

Hotel Oblique

A budgie finds itself in a luxurious wellness hotel that promises stressed birds peace and relaxation.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2026; Director: Merlin Flügel; Writer: Merlin Flügel) , Trailer

Iron Boy (Le Corset)

When a young boy is forced to wear an iron corset for health reasons, he has to reinvent his life on his family farm, discovering friendship and a new passion for music. Animation

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2026; Director: Louis Clichy; Writer: Louis Clichy, Franck Salomé; Stars: Alexandre Astier, Dimitri Colas, Gary Clichy, Brune Moulin, Rod Paradot, Aurélie Vassort, Jean-Pascal Zadi)

I Matter (Eu contez)

Turning eighteen is supposed to be a beginning; for Rebeca, it’s an eviction notice.

(Country: Romania, Germany, Belgium; Year: 2026; Director: Alina Şerban; Writer: Alina Şerban; Stars: Denisa Farcaș, Sorin Mihai, Angelina Pavel, Vanessa Dancea, Raisa Mihai, Alexandru Stancu, Alina Berzunțeanu, Natalia Călin)

Learning to Breathe Under Water (Learning To Breathe Under Water)

“I wish I could pull the black hole out of his brain,” says eight-year-old Leo, with the plainspoken honesty only a child seems able to afford.

(Country: Ireland, United Kingdom, Netherlands; Year: 2026; Director: Rebekah Fortune; Writer: Richard Brabin; Stars: Rory Kinnear, Maria Bakalova, Declan Conlon, Vanessa Ifediora, Ezra Carlisle)

The Little Hotel Detective (De kleine hoteldetective)

Eleven-year-old Billie has one holiday wish: to finally spend some time with her mum, Estella, who’s always buried in hotel business.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2025; Director: Julia van Braak; Writer: Wianda Rozendaal, Maud Coense; Stars: Jolene Horowitz, Charlie-Chan Dagelet, Raymonde de Kuyper, Valentijn Benard, Sara Afiba)

Saba

In an abstract, symbolic world where gravity is reversed, a unique bond forms between a grandfather and his grandson.

(Country: United States, United Kingdom; Year: 2026; Director: Liron Topaz; Writer: Liron Topaz)

Tutti (Ni Chui Do Wo Chui Si)

Rong Chen would like to keep her place in the recorder group, Shao Yu wants to give up playing. She asks him for tips, and by practising together, they not only improve their skills, but also learn something much more important from each other.

(Country: Taiwan; Director: Rong-Zuo Zuang; Writer: Rong-Zuo Zuang)

Will You Care If I Die?

A youth worker gives everything to save a young basketball talent from the slums of Malmö.

(Country: Sweden; Year: 2026; Director: Rojda Sekersöz; Writer: Wiktor Ericsson; Stars: Peshang Rad, Rudwan Socdal, Timbuktu, Sandra Stojiljkovic, Maria Grudemo El Hayek)