Director / Low Expectations
(Bloom section)
Low Expectations / 2026 / Norway / 105 min
Screening: Tuesday, 27 October 2026, 17:15, Karády Room. Followed by a Q&A with director Eivind Landsvik.
Eivind Landsvik is a Norwegian writer and director whose first feature film, Low Expectations, premiered at one of Cannes' featured selections, the Directors' Fortnight. He began his career creating music videos, after which he turned his signature sensitive eye to the narrative form. His short films reflect this perspective, such as Tits (2023), which also premiered at Cannes, and Sofia, Last Summer (2021), which won the Norwegian Critics' Award.
Other films:
Tits (2023) – short film
Director / Nuclear Boy
(Bloom section)
Nuclear Boy / 2026 / Netherlands / 89 min
Screening: Thursday, 29 October 2026, 17:45, Karády Room. Followed by a Q&A with director Joren Molter.
Joren Molter is a Dutch director whose debut feature film, Summer Brother (2023), based on the novel by Jaap Robben, showed him to be one of the Netherlands' most promising directors. The film was selected as the closing film for the Netherlands Film Festival, nominated for four Golden Calves (the Dutch equivalent of the Academy Awards), and won the Dutch Film Critics' Award. He is the first Dutch director to be selected by European Film Promotion for Future Frames: ten new directors to watch at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
Other films:
Summer Brother (2023)
Director / Moulin
(Gala section)
Moulin / 2026 / France–Belgium–USA / 130 min
Screening: Thursday, 29 October 2026, 19:30, Korda Room. Followed by a Q&A with director László Nemes.
László Nemes is an Oscar-winning Hungarian filmmaker whose debut feature, Son of Saul, won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015 before receiving the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2016. His second feature, Sunset (2018), premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, while his latest film, Orphan (2025), also premiered in Venice. Nemes's cinema is defined by an uncompromising formal tone that places the viewer inside history rather than simply observing it from a distance. With Moulin, he turns this approach to a new setting, marking his first French-language film.
Other films:
Son of Saul (2015)
Sunset (2018)
Orphan (2025)
Director / Shana
(Bloom section)
Shana / 2026 / France / 83 min
Screening: Monday, 26 October 2026, 19:30, Karády Room. Followed by a Q&A with director Lila Pinell.
French director and screenwriter Lila Pinell studied philosophy before completing a Master's degree in documentary filmmaking in Lussas. Her first film, Nous arrivons, explores the everyday life of a self-managed children's summer camp. It was during that production that she met Eva Huault, who would later star in Le Roi David (winner of the Clermont-Ferrand Grand Prix and the Jean Vigo Award) before taking on the title role in Shana. Pinell also co-directed Kiss and Cry with Chloé Mahieu.
Other films:
Kiss and Cry (2017)
King David (2021)
Director / My Notes on Mars
(Gala section)
My Notes on Mars / 2026 / Hungary–Austria–France–Germany–Montenegro–Bosnia and Herzegovina–USA / 111 min
Screening: Monday, 26 October 2026, 19:00, Korda Room. Followed by a Q&A with director Lili Horvát.
Lili Horvát is a screenwriter and director. Her films are characterized by sensitive storytelling, a balancing act between reality and imagination, and the acceptance of the inexplicable. She began her film studies at the Sorbonne University in Paris and later studied film and television directing at the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest in Ildikó Enyedi's class. Her first feature film, The Wednesday Child, premiered at the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it won the East of the West Award. Shortly thereafter, she co-founded the production company Poste Restante with producer Dóra Csernátony. The premiere of Horvát's second feature film, Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time, took place at the 78th Venice International Film Festival in the Giornate degli Autori competition section, which showcases original, auteur-driven films. It won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Warsaw International Film Festival. My Notes on Mars is her first English-language film and served as the opening film of the Giornate degli Autori competition section at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. It was received with deep appreciation and enthusiasm by international audiences and critics alike.
Other films:
The Wednesday Child (2015)
Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (2020)
Director / Filipiñana
(Bloom section)
Filipiñana / 2026 / United Kingdom–Philippines–Singapore–France–Netherlands / 100 min
Screening: Tuesday, 27 October 2026, 20:30, Karády Room. Followed by a Q&A with director Rafael Manuel.
Rafael Manuel is a director, writer, and editor from the Philippines. His short films have been featured in the programs of numerous prestigious international film festivals, such as the Locarno Film Festival, the Rotterdam International Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival. His 2020 short film Filipiñana, which served as a study for his first feature film, won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Manuel is the most recent recipient of the Rolex Arts Initiative's film scholarship, where he was mentored by Jia Zhang-ke (Still Life, Touch of Sin). Richard Brody, the legendary film critic of The New Yorker, selected Manuel's first feature film, Filipiñana, as one of the best films of 2026.
Other films:
Dogeater (2019) – short film
Filipiñana (2020) – short film
102 Nara (2024) – short film
Director / 9 Temples to Heaven
(Bloom section)
9 Temples to Heaven / 2026 / Thailand, Singapore, France, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Qatar / 140 min
Screening: Wednesday, 28 October 2026, 19:30, Karády Room. Followed by a Q&A with director Sompot Chidgasornpongse.
Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s short films have screened at numerous international festivals, while his first documentary, Railway Sleepers (2016), premiered at the Busan International Film Festival before screening at the Berlinale. Chidgasornpongse also worked for many years as assistant director to Apichatpong Weerasethakul on films including Tropical Malady, Syndromes and a Century, Cemetery of Splendour and Memoria. 9 Temples to Heaven marks his fiction feature debut.
Other films:
Railway Sleepers (2016)
Director / Forever Your Maternal Animal
(Bloom section)
Forever Your Maternal Animal / 2026 / Belgium–France–Mexico / 100 min
Screening: Friday, 30 October 2026, 17:45, Karády Room. Followed by a Q&A with director Valentina Maurel.
Costa Rican-French filmmaker Valentina Maurel first gained international recognition with her short films, including Paul Is Here (2017), winner of the First Prize at La Cinef in Cannes, and Lucía in Limbo (2019). Her debut feature, I Have Electric Dreams (2022), premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, where it won three awards. With Forever Your Maternal Animal, her second feature, Maurel once again explores the complexities of family relationships, returning to her native Costa Rica for an intimate portrait of motherhood, sisterhood and belonging.
Other films:
I Have Electric Dreams (2022)
