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Thessaloniki International Film Festival · 2026

Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2026

Open Horizons

Programme

47 films · 11 reviews

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3 Days In September

Review preview for 3 Days In September

A dynamic, lean, but refreshingly lightweight viewing experience.

Marko Stojiljkovic · 3.5 out of 5
When her fiancé’s mistress crashes Bianca's wedding day, she flees on a tourist train, launching a real-time odyssey of chaotic escape.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2026; Director: Tudor Giurgiu; Writer: Conrad Mericoffer, Radu Grigore, Tudor Giurgiu; Stars: Andreea Vasile, Emilian Oprea, Conrad Mericoffer, Mirela Zeța, Emilia Popescu, Adela Popescu, Maria Junghietu)

Full review

Ancestors

A gay Irishman searches Eighties London for his missing friend.

(Country: Ireland, UK; Year: 2026; Director: David Turpin; Writer: David Turpin; Stars: Éanna Hardwicke, Jack Wolfe, Jessica Reynolds, Rupert Everett, Christina Hendricks)

Animol

On arriving in a young offenders institution, Troy quickly comes into the orbit of two people who will define his life inside: dominant kingpin Dion and wisecracking Krystiyan. Will these relationships help him survive, or bring about his downfall?

(Country: UK; Year: 2026; Director: Ashley Walters; Writer: Nick Love; Stars: Tut Nyuot, Vladyslav Baliuk, Stephen Graham, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Andrew Porter, Ryan Dean, Tareq Al-Jeddal, Richie Bratby, Sekou Diaby, George Harrison, Imogen Wilde, Claire Ashton)

Black Money For White Nights (Cherni pari za beli noshti)

Review preview for Black Money For White Nights

The directors with their fifth feature take a humane view of the plight of their subjects but spare us any over-sentimentality

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
After years of saving money from the small bribes they collect, 60-year-old Marina and her husband Gosha from Bulgaria are preparing for their dream trip to St Petersburg to witness the White Nights. But when Russia invades Ukraine and the travel agency vanishes with all their savings, the couple’s dream collapses.

(Country: Bulgaria, Greece; Year: 2026; Director: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov; Writer: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov, Decho Taralezhkov; Stars: Tanya Shahova, Margita Gosheva, Ivan Barnev, Ivan Savov)

Full review

The Burning Giants (Yak Mai)

A mysterious toxic smog is infecting Keren Mountain people, an ethnic minority in Thailand. Men and women get a bizarre skin condition. The government official forest marshalls consequently burn down their villages. A good excuse to make way for a new national park soon after the pandemic. When one of the Keren women, working as a nanny, hears of a lone mountainman who has been captured, she abandons everything to hopefully find her lost husband.

(Country: Thailand; Year: 2026; Director: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng; Stars: Awat Ratanapintha, Pakapol Srirongmuang, Waywiree Ittianunkul, Tanatwut Rodpai)

Children of the Sun (Kinder der Sonne)

Two girls and two boys travel from Berlin to Evia for a holiday and set up camp near the mountain village where the aunt and uncle of one of them, Alexandros, live.

(Country: Germany, Greece; Year: 2026; Director: Leonie Krippendorff; Writer: Leonie Krippendorff; Stars: Jella Haase, Yannis Kokiasmenos, Thure Lindhardt, Lena Urzendowsky, Gogo Kartsana, Maria Kehayioglou, Argyris Gaganis, Andronikos Korakas, Joshua Hupfauer, Eric Kabongo, Syrmo Keke, Myrto Naoum, Anastasia Poulimenou)

Cinemania (Cinemanía)

Nuns with guns, CIA agents, girlfriends betraying one another over some dude, a fed-up mother dreaming of winning the lottery just to get rid of her son, a good-for-nothing rent boy, a film producer dealing to get films…

(Country: Spain; Year: 2026; Director: Marc Ferrer; Writer: Marc Ferrer; Stars: Marc Ferrer, Júlia Betrian, Saya Solana, María Sola, Azahara Moyano, Beatriz Escribano, Bruno Tarrius, Adrià Ibáñez, Judit Martín, Kike Fernández)

Conversation With The Sea (Hiwar ma' albahr)

In Jerusalem, Kamal, a 60-year-old Palestinian man, is ordered by an Israeli court to pay a large social security debt allegedly owed by his son Wael. But Wael drowned in the Red Sea decades ago. When no official record of his death can be found, Kamal follows the only remaining lead to uncover what happened to his son.

(Country: Palestine, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Qatar; Year: 2026; Director: Muayad Alayan; Stars: Kamel El Basha, Amer Hlehel, Bahira Ablassi, Maria Zreik)

The Days Off (Los días libres)

In the near future, during a relentless summer break and with a solar eclipse approaching, 12-year-old Bego struggles to find her place within her family but an online friend opens the door to the possibility of other realities.

(Country: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, France; Year: 2026; Director: Lucila Mariani; Writer: Lucila Mariani; Stars: Antonia Robolini, Laura Paredes, Luiza Quinteiro, Guillermo Berthold, Amanda Minujín, Gaia Garibaldi, Bruna Sigal, Rosa Scarvaci, Jenni Merla)

Destroy All Girls

Alex Martínez bolts from her stifling home to ride with a band of inline street skaters. Bouncing around New York City with nothing other than skates and a camcorder, escape comes easy at first. But as family and identity collide, she's forced to face the one thing she can't outride – herself.

(Country: US, Germany; Year: 2026; Director: Erin Vassilopoulos; Writer: Erin Vassilopoulos, Gil Perez-Abraham, Flo Linus Baumann, Ani Mesa-Perez; Stars: Ani Mesa-Perez, Gil Perez-Abraham, Florencia Lozano, Dominic Bruce, Alfredo Narciso, Bobby Daniel Rodriguez)

Donkey Princess (Princessa Burro)

Diana is the princess of an ancient kingdom. Her father, King Arthur, forbids love. When Diana falls in love with Lalo, he banishes him. Using a magical bracelet, Diana travels to other worlds in search of her love. Discovering that her father manipulates her decisions, she must face her fears and change her destiny.

(Country: Chile, Uruguay, France, Netherlands, Germany; Year: 2026; Director: Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña; Writer: Alejandra Moffat, Joaquín Cociña, Cristóbal León; Stars: Antonia Giesen, Andrew Bargsted, Francisco Melo)

Eklipse

A 12-yaer-old who is spending summer with his best friend Chris, finds the friendship falls apart after Chris learns Tomy's father in hospital with AIDS.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2026; Director: Manuel Wetscher; Stars: Moritz Hohlrieder, Finley Brown, Hannes Perkmann, Lenz Moretti, Lisa Schützenberger)

Elephants In The Fog

In a small Nepalese village nestled in the heart of a forest populated by wild elephants, Pirati is the matriarch of a community of transgender women. But when one of her "daughters" disappears, she must choose between love and responsibility to her community.

(Country: Nepal, Germany, Brazil, France, Norway; Director: Abinash Bikram Shah; Writer: Abinash Bikram Shah)

Even If Hell Came (Se venisse anche l'inferno)

The winter of 1944 is the coldest Italy has ever known, and not just in temperature.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2026; Director: Samuele Rossi; Writer: Samuele Rossi, Lorenzo Bagnatori; Stars: Luca Tanganelli, Giorgio Colangeli, Giusi Merli, Ivan Franek, Luca Vergoni, Alice Vierin, Giada Bessone, Andrea Damarco) , Trailer

First Zone

A woman embarks on an odyssey after across a post-apocalyptic landscape.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2026; Director: Thom Lunshof)

The Fox

The affable heir to a wealthy rural landowner discovers that his fiancée is cheating on him and wants nothing more than to just fix the problem. One night, he captures a rogue Fox, and she offers him a trade-off: if Nick lets her live, the Fox will help him save his relationship.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2025; Director: Dario Russo; Writer: Dario Russo; Stars: Jai Courtney, Emily Browning, Damon Herriman, Claudia Doumit, Sam Neill, Miranda Otto, Olivia Colman)

The Guest (Gæsten)

Review preview for The Guest

A fascinating and mature ensemble piece

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
New parents Karl and Emilie are looking forward to a weekend break where they plan to announce their baby's name. The day before the celebration, Karl's estranged mother shows up.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2026; Director: Mads Mengel; Writer: Mads Mengel, Christian Bengtson; Stars: Simon Bennebjerg, Mette Klakstein, Trine Dyrholm, Josephine Park, Peter Gantzler, Petrine Agger)

Full review See: Karlovy Vary’s best director Mads Mengel on family, fatherhood and casting

Hand of Justice (Ruka Pravde)

In 1950s Buenos Aires, Blagoje Jovović, a former member of the royalist Yugoslav Army in the Homeland, leads a quiet life, running a cork factory with his friend Jakov and planning his wedding, until a chance encounter…

(Country: Serbia, Argentina; Year: 2026; Director: Nemanja Ćeranić, Nebojsa Pajkic (co-director); Writer: Mirko Stojkovic, Strahinja Madzarevic, Nebojsa Pajkic; Stars: Aleksndar Gavranić, Zlatan Vidović, Tamara Ristoska, Samuel Finzi, Igor Borojević, Lucas Ferraro)

Holy Light

On Easter, 10-year-old Mircea and his father travel from a small Romanian mountain village to the city to bring back the Holy Fire, which is flown in from thousands of kilometres away every year. On the way back, Mircea loses sight of his father and tries to find his way back alone in the dark, while protecting the flame.

(Country: Romania, Slovakia, Moldova; Year: 2026; Director: Marian Crișan; Writer: Marian Crișan; Stars: Andrei Voicu, Marius Cordos, Ofelia Popii)

Home

Review preview for Home

Home certainly screams, sometimes with urgency, sometimes with the strain of a story still too close to its maker.

Edin Custo · 3 out of 5
Migration story seen through the eyes of a young girl.

(Country: Denmark, Serbia; Year: 2026; Director: Marijana Janković; Writer: Marijana Janković; Stars: Dejan Čukić, Nada Šargin, Tara Cubrilo, Jesper Christensen, Zlatko Burić, Claes Bang)

Full review See: Marijana Janković on Home, Balkan representation, and the immigrant question of where you belong

In A Whisper (A Voix Basse)

Review preview for In A Whisper

What follows is not a simple coming-out narrative and not a whodunit either, but an internal struggle constantly externalised through ritual and space.

Edin Custo · 3.5 out of 5
Lilia returns to Tunisia for her uncle’s funeral and reunites with a family that knows nothing about her life in Paris, especially not about the woman she loves.

(Year: 2026; Director: Leyla Bouzid; Writer: Leyla Bouzid; Stars: Marion Barbeau, Eya Bouteraa, Hiam Abbass, Feriel Chamari)

Full review

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)

Isabel

Isabel, a sommelière in São Paulo, dreams of escaping her boss and opening her own bar. When plans don’t go as expected, she must decide whether to halt everything or take bold steps to uncork her fate on her own terms.

(Country: Brazil, France; Year: 2026; Director: Gabe Klinger; Writer: Gabe Klinger; Stars: Marina Person, Caio Horowicz, John Ortiz, Michelle Ellyse)

Iván & Hadoum

Review preview for Iván & Hadoum

Iván & Hadoum announces de la Rosa as a filmmaker with uncommon emotional precision.

Edin Custo · 3.5 out of 5
In a greenhouse in southern Spain, Iván falls in love with his newly hired co-worker, Hadoum. But his long-awaited promotion interferes with their relationship, forcing Iván to decide what kind of person he wants to be.

(Country: Spain, Belgium, Germany; Year: 2026; Director: Ian de la Rosa; Writer: Ian de la Rosa; Stars: Silver Chicón, Herminia Loh, Gregor Acuña-Pohl)

Full review

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)

I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming

The love of Olya and Oleh, a young queer Ukrainian couple, is put to the test when one partner’s gender transition collides with Russia's full-scale invasion.

(Country: Germany, Ukraine; Year: 2026; Director: Isabelle Stever; Writer: Anna Melikova; Stars: Tania Myronyshena, Markus Bright, Iryna Mak, Viktor Zhdanov, Maiia Sobolevska, Maria Myronyshena, Oleksandr Rudynskyi)

Jim Queen

When a virus that turns gay men straight sweeps through Paris, gym queen Jim has to race against time to find a cure before the community who worship him are wiped out.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2026; Director: Nicolas Athané, Marco Nguyen; Writer: Brice Chevillard, Simon Balteaux; Stars: Alex Ramirès, Jéremy Gillet, Shirley Souagnon, François Sagat, Elisabeth Wiener, Harald Marlot, Alex Brik)

Josephine

Review preview for Josephine

De Araújo is particularly good at evoking the emotional turmoil Jo feels.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
After 8-year-old Josephine accidentally witnesses a crime in Golden Gate Park, she acts out in search of a way to regain control of her safety while adults are helpless to console her.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Beth de Araújo; Writer: Beth de Araújo; Stars: Mason Reeves, Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, Philip Ettinger, Syra McCarthy, Eleanore Pienta, Gretchen Klein, Nate Duncan, Tracy Todd, Grace Kelly Quigley, Malcolm Engel)

Full review See: Beth de Araújo Channing Tatum and others talk about a child's eye view of crime in Josephine

Labrador - Autopsy of Silence (Labrador - autopsie du silence)

In the icy waters of Labrador, in Canada’s Arctic north, a cargo ship races to deliver the last supply run of the season to the region’s isolated communities – until the murder of a crew member shatters the fragile…

(Country: Canada; Year: 2026; Director: Rodrigue Jean; Writer: Rodrigue Jean; Stars: Christopher Angatookalook, Alexandre Landry, Gabrielle Poulin B., Jassinth Thiagarajah, Arsaniq Deer)

Letters from an Inner Exile (Todo es cárcel)

“At that time, all of Spain was a prison” – the words of poet Marcos Ana, who was imprisoned under Franco, give this remarkable hybrid film both its Spanish title and its guiding idea: that under Franco, any place could…

(Country: Spain; Year: 2026; Director: Eloy Enciso Cachafeiro; Writer: Eloy Enciso Cachafeiro, Beli Martínez; Stars: Elsa Pereira)

Low Expectations (Lave Forventninger)

Review preview for Low Expectations

The plot begins where screenwriting manuals would suggest a cut, in the aimless downtime of everyday life.

Lehel Fazakas · 3.5 out of 5
A successful young artist's career derails, forcing her back to her hometown. While teaching high school to make ends meet, she navigates depression and rediscovers herself in unexpected ways.

(Country: Denmark, Norway; Year: 2026; Director: Eivind Landsvik; Writer: Eivind Landsvik; Stars: Marie Ulven, Anders Danielsen Lie, Tone Mostraum, Embla Berntsen, Snorre Kinf Monsson, Clara Dessau)

Full review

A Man Of His Time (Notre Salut)

Review preview for A Man Of His Time

There exists no safe ground when you are part of a regime that uses fear and threats as casual tools.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 3 out of 5
Historical drama set against a backdrop of Vichy France as a man strives to help France's renewal.

(Country: Belgium, France; Year: 2026; Director: Emmanuel Marre; Writer: Emmanuel Marre; Stars: Swann Arlaud, Sandrine Blancke, Mathieu Perotto)

Full review

Masc

A young autistic man tries on different roles in search of belonging.

(Country: UK; Year: 2026; Director: Bertil Nilsson; Writer: Bertil Nilsson; Stars: Joshua Griffin, Tega Alexander, Reece King, Ed White, Robbie Bellekom, Hi Ching, Lincoln Conway)

Memorizu

Review preview for Memorizu

Miiku Sakanishi’s gentle debut builds a movingly humanistic consideration of family and community relationships, while also musing on our connection to photography itself.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A man goes to help his photographer father-in-law, who has fractured his leg, in a rural town, keeping in touch with his wife and young daughter via spontaneous phone snaps and videos.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2026; Director: Miiku Sakanishi; Writer: Miiku Sakanishi; Stars: Tasuku Emoto, Moeka Hoshi, Issey Ogata, Yuu Kashii, Masayo Umezawa, Hiroko Isayama, Yusuke Narita, Fusako Urabe)

Full review

Mila / Marija

Southern Austria, 1942: in a country torn in two, choosing a side can cost you everything.

(Country: Austria, Slovenia, Greece; Year: 2026; Director: Andrina Mračnikar; Writer: Andrina Mračnikar, Barbara Albert; Stars: Doroteja Nadrah, Marko Mandic, Oskar Haag, Petja Labovic, Leon Lučev, Edita Malovčić, Jurij Drevensek)

The Moon Is A Father Of Mine

After a 12-year-old is expelled from school, his estranged dad invites him to live with him.

(Country: Luxembourg, Türkiye, Georgia, Germany, Czech Republic, Bulgaria; Year: 2025; Director: George Ovashvili)

Mouse

When two girls' friendship is upended one forms a complicated relationship with the other one's mother.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Kelly O'Sullivan, Alex Thompson; Writer: Kelly O’Sullivan; Stars: Sophie Okonedo, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Chloe Coleman, Tara Mallen, Iman Vellani)

Nagi Notes

Yoriko, an artist living in rural Nagi, is haunted by a former love affair she cannot bear to mourn. When Yuri, a recently separated architect, travels from Tokyo to visit her friend and former sister-in-law, both women find themselves at a crossroad, each searching for ways to let go of the past and define their identities.

(Country: Japan, Singapore, France; Year: 2026; Director: Koji Fukada; Writer: Koji Fukada; Stars: Takako Matsu, Kenichi Matsuyama, Shizuka Ishibashi, Kawaguchi Waku, Kiyora Fujiwara, Sawako Fujima, Ron Mizuma, Shin Seo-gye)

The Night Arezou Disappeared (Shabe Napadid Shodane Arezou)

Tehran, 2022: mass protests – violently suppressed by the regime – sweep through Iran, with youth rallying at the front.

(Country: Iran, Germany; Year: 2026; Director: Arian Vazirdaftari; Writer: Arian Vazirdaftari; Stars: Ebrahim Azizi, Paniz Lesan Khosh Nik, Armin Lesan Khosh Nik, Sonia Sanjari, Shabnam Dadkhah)

Night Nurse

As a series of perverse scam calls unsettles an idyllic retirement community, a starry-eyed nurse becomes entangled with her mysterious patient.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Georgia Bernstein; Writer: Georgia Bernstein; Stars: Cemre Paksoy, Bruce McKenzie, Eléonore Hendricks, Colleen Rose Trundy, Mimi Rogers)

No Good Men

A camerawoman at Kabul's main TV station, who is struggling domestically, finds herself swept up in reporting the last days of freedom ahead of the Taliban's return.

(Country: Germany, France, Norway, Denmark, Afghanistan; Year: 2026; Director: Shahrbanoo Sadat; Writer: Shahrbanoo Sadat, Anwar Hashimi; Stars: Shahrbanoo Sadat, Anwar Hashimi, Liam Hussaini, Yasin Negah, Torkan Omari, Fatim Zahra El Hassani, Ahmad Anuar Azizi, Masihullah Tajzai, Laila Mahmudi, Farzad Hamidpadgan, Ali Hussein Assadi, Shahla Noori, Mirza Mohammad Hafezi, Faridoon Ghazanfari Afshar, Bismellah Paymani)

Oasis

When a viral video of a student threatening his classmates surfaces online, the school spirals into escalating violence. Crushed by the pressure of teachers and parents, three outcasts take refuge in a nearby forest.

(Country: Germany, Austria; Year: 2026; Director: Jannis Lenz; Stars: Florian Geißelmann, Anton Petzold, Mathilda Smidt, Godehard Giese)

Our Share Of Sand

After years apart, 12 year-old Maya returns to India with her mother to reunite with her father - a sandmining businessman. Immersed in a world where labour, legacy and extraction collide, she forms a fragile bond with Kiran, a young worker. After a tragic event, a police investigation turns Maya into a key witness.

(Country: India, UK, Greece; Year: 2026; Director: Shalini Adnani; Writer: Shalini Adnani; Stars: Maya Mehta, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Ellora Torchia, Krish Raj More, Ravi Patel, Jyoti Dogra)

Phreaker

A blind lonely teen becomes the latest breed of telecom criminal in this crackling dial-up thriller.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2026; Director: Adam Yorke)

A Place To Heal (15/18)

Lucia, 17, is taken to a child and adolescent psychiatric unit, where she is reunited with old friends Amidst treatment, attentive care, and the tensions of an overwhelmed ward, the group’s fragile balance wavers with the arrival of the mysterious Enzo.

(Country: France; Year: 2026; Director: Cédric Kahn; Writer: Cédric Kahn; Stars: Zoé Monpart, Malou Khebizi, Kenji Peyran, Raphaël Besson, Patience Munchenbach, Ahleme Sahraoui, Jade Philip, Laeti Vabre, Daoud Gary, Sami Assouane, Ambre Belaidi, Gabriel Pottier, Sophie Guillemin, Maria Cavalier-Bazan, Cédric Kahn)

A Prayer For The Dying

In a rural Wisconsin town in 1870, Sheriff Jacob Hansen—a man still haunted by the Civil War—is pushed to his psychological limits when a deadly plague sweeps through his community and encroaching wildfires close in.

(Country: Norway, Greece, UK, Sweden; Year: 2026; Director: Dara Van Dusen; Writer: Stewart O'Nan, Dara Van Dusen; Stars: Johnny Flynn, John C Reilly, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Gustav Lindh, Hilton Pelser, Andrew Whipp)

The River Train (El Tren Fluvial)

Review preview for The River Train

The River Train lets language do what plot will not always do, it gives a child’s abstract longings a body.

Edin Custo · 4 out of 5
Nine-year-old Milo lives in a remote Argentinian village where he studies the Malambo, a folk dance full of bravura. He is an excellent dancer, but Milo’s only desire is to escape the countryside on a train for the Buenos Aires of his dreams.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2026; Director: Lorenzo Ferro, Lucas A Vignale; Writer: Lorenzo Ferro, Lucas A Vignale; Stars: Milo Barria, Rita Pauls, Mariano Barria, Lucrecia Pazos, Mailen Barria, Diego Puente, Pehuén Pedre, Fabián Casas)

Full review