The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has revealed the main line-up for the Tiger Competition and the Big Screen Competition program for its 2026 edition. The titles revealed on Tuesday include new films from the United States, China, Portugal and many other regions around the world.
IFFR organizers also revealed that the festival will open with the world premiere of the Portuguese feature film Providence and the guitar by João Nicolau. The closing film will be the world premiere of a detective comedy Bazaar (Murder in the building) by French filmmaker Rémi Bezançon.
Inspired by a short novel by Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Providence and the guitar follows Léon and Elvira, two artists trying to keep their stage careers afloat. The film marks the acting debut of Portuguese singer Salvador Sobral, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.
Starring Laetitia Casta, Gilles Lellouche and Guillaume Gallienne, Bazaar follows an enthusiastic Hitchcock scholar who becomes convinced that the neighbor across the street murdered his wife. “With her husband, a successful novelist, she embarks on an investigation that is by turns risky, absurd and revealing,” according to a synopsis.
“The 2026 edition of IFFR brings together new voices and returning artists whose works explore belonging, reinvention, humor, fear, beauty and the enduring human effort to understand our place in a changing world,” said Vanja Kaludjercic, festival director at IFFR. “Today’s announcement highlights the competitions – the beating heart of the festival – with a range of titles that speak to our mission of discovering audiences and championing filmmakers who are blazing new trails in cinema.”
The IFFR Tiger Competition is designed to showcase emerging voices from around the world, with 12 world premieres from filmmakers “who reshape the familiar from within, adjusting perspectives to reveal what often goes unnoticed,” organizers said.
Among the films we find The gymnastthe first feature film by American director Charlotte Glynn. Set in Pittsburgh in 1993, newcomer Britney Wheeler plays a young gymnast with Olympic dreams, with Ethan Embry as her single father, focused on his daughter’s gymnastics career.
“The 12 titles in the big screen competition examine how lives are shaped by inherited stories, with many films revisiting the past – personal, political or historical – to understand its influence on the present,” IFFR organizers also said on Tuesday.
The 55th edition of the Dutch festival takes place from January 29 to February. 8.
Here’s a look at the IFFR 2026 lineups for the festival’s Tiger Competition and Big Screen Competition projects, as well as IFFR’s Tiger Short Competition and Displacement Film Fund projects, which were also revealed on Tuesday.
Tiger Competition
The beautiful yeardirector Angelica Ruffier (Sweden, Norway)
A man who disappearsreal. Welf Reinhart (Germany)
The gymnastreal. Charlotte Glynn (United States)
A messy tribute to maternal lovereal. Dan Geesin (Netherlands, Germany, Belgium)
My Sembareal. Hugo Salvaterra (Angola)
Nangong Chengreal. Shao Pan (China)
The prophetdir. Ique Langa (Mozambique, South Africa, Qatar)
Roidreal. Mejbaur Rahman Sumon (Bangladesh)
Support roledirected by Ana Urushadze (Georgia, Estonia, Türkiye, Switzerland, United States)
Indelible!real. Socrates Saint-Wulfstan Drakos (Belgium, Thailand, Sweden)
Variations on a themereal. Jason Jacobs, Devon Delmar (South Africa, Netherlands, Qatar)
Yellow cakereal. Tiago Melo (Brazil)
Competition on the big screen
2m²director Volkan Üce (Belgium, Germany, Türkiye)
Arabicreal. Malek Bensmail (Algeria, France, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Belgium)
Butterflyreal. Itonje Søimer Guttormsen (Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany)
Cyclonereal. Philippe Yung (Hong Kong)
The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherfordreal. Sean Dunn (UK)
Homereal. Marijana Janković (Denmark, Serbia)
Masterreal. Rezwan Shahriar Sumit (Bangladesh)
Moonlightreal. Isabel Sandoval (Philippines, Taiwan, Japan)
Now I met herdirected by Xiao Luxi (China)
Global projectsay. Ivo M. Ferreira (Portugal, Luxembourg)
Talk to a strangerreal. Adrián García Bogliano (Mexico)
Tell me what you feelreal. Łukasz Ronduda (Poland)
Short Tiger Competition
Where does José Gerónimo’s faith take us?director Juliano Kunert (Dominican Republic)
Acid Cityreal. Jack Wedge, Will Freudenheim (United States)
The apple does not fall…real. Dean Wei (China)
Body, remember…real. Matthieu Berka (United Kingdom)
CUL-DE-SAC!real. Clyde Gates, Gabriel Sanson (Belgium, France)
Deep CobaltReal. Petna Ndaliko Katondolo (Congo, Democratic Republic, United States)
DISSONANCEreal. Jordan Strafer (Germany) *World Premiere (Festival)
Domestic demonreal. Anahid Yahjian (United States, Portugal)
A bright futurereal. Ismael García Ramírez (Colombia)
Golden Islandreal. Arief Budiman (Indonesia, Singapore)
Home is where the heart isdir. Timothée Engasser (France)
I am a riverreal. Heidi Piiroinen (Finland, France)
Last shotreal. Parham Rahimzadeh (Netherlands)
like butterflies in the lightreal. Gala Hernández López (Spain, Italy, France)
Martyr Mirror Moon Mirrorreal. Jesse Jones (Ireland)
The next worldreal. Grau Del Grau (United States)
Enigma objectreal. Chiara Caterina (Italy, Belgium)
Orlareal. Marie Lukáčová (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
GLOWINGreal. Shannon Lynn Harris (Canada)
The second skinReal. Lapidus Discussion (United States, Mexico)
Smriti~real. Shahi AJ (India)
The tragic movement of the spheresYou. Simon Rieth (France)
Travel Film Fund
Allies in exiledirector Hasan Kattan (UK)
Rotation, You. Maryna Er Gorbach (Ukraine, Türkiye)
Sense of waterreal. Mohammad Rasoulof (Iran, Germany)
Great Afghan Gymreal. Shahrbanoo Sadat (Germany)
Whispers of a burning perfume, dir. Mo Harawe (Somalia, Austria, Germany)
