Dublin International Film Festival announced their full programme for the 2026 edition this afternoon at the Light House cinema in Smithfield and the line-up is more encyclopaedic than ever. The festival opens on February 19th, with David Gleeson’s Once Upon a Time in a Cinema (filmed in Limerick), which is one of the many world premieres on the programme. Executive Festival Director Gráinne Humphreys and Programmer Peggy Mac Hale have put together a wonderfully wide-ranging collection of features that will bring everything from a 1939 Soviet prison camp to 2009 rural Argentina to cinemas and cultural spaces across Dublin. The festival, as always, is as much about making films as it is about watching them. There will be panels on sustainable filmmaking (‘Green from Script to Screen’), programming, adapting video games (‘Storytelling On Screens’) and composers, as well as masterclasses on directing and cinematography with invited guests. This year’s country-in-focus is Switzerland and the programme not only includes Swiss films but also a four-film retrospective on the brilliant and eclectic director Lionel Baier (who will also be in attendance). A very exciting event is dedicated to young filmmakers from Ballymun as part of ‘New Voices On Screen’ and will feature two films offering a deeply authentic and local window into the community. There will also be a screening that highlights Dublin as a setting for cinema in ‘Dublin on Screen’ as well as the festival’s traditional surprise film. The closing gala on March 1st promises a grand ending with the world premiere of John Carney’s Power Ballad at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (with actors Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas in attendance).
From a programme this diverse and extensive, we’ve put together a list of must-watch films to help you plan your festival itinerary.
Wild Nights, Tamed Beasts (Dir. Wang Tong)
Deyong is a small-time zoo owner who has polio, a pet lion (Pipi) and a sick aging father. Xiaolin is a care-giver who may or may not have started a fire outside her boss’ office and may or may not have murdered the patient she was looking after. This thriller-cum-romance is a strange film, the best kind of strange. Ambitiously atmospheric and unabashedly unbothered, this debut rightly won the Grand Prix and Best Actress in Shanghai.
Kokuho (Dir. Lee Sang-il)
The all-time highest grossing Japanese live action film, this period drama tells the story of fourteen-year-old Kikuo as he is taken under the wing of a famous Kabuki actor after the death of his father, a yakuza gang leader. Scandals, glory, friendship and betrayal pave his path to becoming the greatest living Kabuki master. Along with stellar performances, the film includes some of the most skilfully designed costumes, and the most intricate makeup and hairstyling.
Landmarks (Dir. Lucrecia Martel)
Martel’s powerful documentary interrogates the 2009 killing of Javier Chocobar, a member of the indigenous Chuchagasta community in Argentina, as he tried to defend himself and his people from being forcibly evicted from their land by a local landowner and two former police officers. This is cinema looking in the face of indigenous colonialism with courage and humanity.
The Arch (Dir. T’ang Shushuen)
T’ang Shushuen was one of the earliest arthouse filmmakers in Hong Kong and this 1968 film of hers is a work of pure genius. Adapted from a Chinese folktale about a widow torn between her amorous desires and moral obligations, it describes the complications that arise when a mother and daughter develop feelings for the same man. This would be a rare opportunity to see this gem on the big screen.
One Woman One Bra (Dir. Vincho Nchogu)
The Sutherland Award winner at the BFI London Film Festival, this vibrant and humorous tale comes from the village of Sayet, where Star is a young woman facing eviction from her ancestral land. The only way that she can stay is if she proves her kinship to the community, a task which seems impossible, until a potential solution reveals itself. Suffice it to say that there is never a dull moment in Nchogu’s film.
First Name: Matthew (Dir. Lionel Baier)
Playing as part of the retrospective focus on Lionel Baier, this film is perhaps the most nuanced work in the Swiss director’s oeuvre. Originally composed as part of the anthology series ‘Shock Waves’, it is about the aftermath of a heinous crime. Mathieu, age seventeen, the only survivor of an infamous serial killer, returns home and tries to live a normal life only to realise that nothing can be normal after what has happened. This is a film that will crawl under your skin and refuse to leave.
Sound of Falling (Dir. Mascha Schilinski)
This Cannes Jury Prize winner follows four girls across four generations as they spend time on the same farm in Northern Germany and explores the intricacies of womanhood with patience, exquisite poise and astonishing finesse. The film redefines cinematic storytelling and expands the meaning of the word ‘film’.
Father Mother Sister Brother (Dir. Jim Jarmusch)
From the icon that is Jarmusch comes a triptych of family, of parents and their children, and children and their parents. The ensemble cast includes some fantastic actors like Cate Blanchett, Tom Waits, Adam Driver and Vicky Krieps. Recent winner of the Golden Lion at Venice, watching this film has been described as turning the cinematic experience ‘inside out’.
The Last One for the Road (Dir. Francesco Sossai)
In north eastern Italy, Carlobianchi and Doriano, two middle-aged men befriend Giulio, a shy architecture student, and venture together on a boozy road trip that will change all three lives. Equal parts funny and warm, this Italian adventure seeks to answer what it means to live a good life.
Most screenings offer a discounted ticket for students and those under 24. Ticket bundles are also available for 6 (€67) or 12 films (€126), as are festival passes for students (€225).
