Get in the IFFR 2026 mood with these films by returning filmmakers on IFFR Unleashed

Jim Jarmusch, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Oliver Laxe and Laura Amelia Guzmán & Israel Cárdenas – names bringing new films that will surely be topping plenty of must-see lists at IFFR 2026. All have a rich history with Rotterdam, and our latest IFFR Unleashed collection offers a chance to revisit their formative earlier films and trace their long-standing connection to the festival.

What is IFFR Unleashed?

IFFR Unleashed is IFFR’s curated video-on-demand (VOD) platform – extending the festival’s mission by spotlighting bold and distinctive cinema through thematic online programmes, available on a quarterly basis.

Each edition features a carefully curated line-up, offering audiences a fresh and accessible way to engage with the festival year-round. Past collections on IFFR Unleashed have highlighted celebrated works by filmmakers such as Kelly Reichardt, Bong Joon Ho, Janicza Bravo, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Wang Bing and many others.

How does it work?

Each title is available on a pay-per-view basis: €6 for a feature and €2.50 for a short or mid-length film. We offer a special Unleashed multi-ticket (rittenkaart) that grants access to either five feature films or five short films. The total cost of the multi-ticket is €25 for five feature films and €10 for five short films, reducing the price per film to €5 for feature films and €2 for short films. Any unused tickets can be used for future releases or other Unleashed titles.

Released in two batches, the programme will run from 24 December 2025 to 28 January 2026 (21.00 CET), with different titles available during each phase.

All titles are geo-blocked to the Netherlands and available with English subtitles. Find out more in our FAQ.

Titles available in the first phase (from 24 December until 7 January 21.00 CET)

All titles are geo-blocked to the Netherlands and available with English subtitles. 

Stranger Than Rotterdam with Sara Driver by Lewie Kloster & Noah Kloster (IFFR 2022)

A seedy and hilarious slice of film history starring Jim Jarmusch, Mick Jagger, and IFFR’s very own Hubert Bals in puppet form. From the days when forbidden films were locked away in cans, and occasionally became subject to their own complex heist plots.

Jim Jarmusch’s Venice Golden Lion-winning Father Mother Sister Brother screens at IFFR 2026, features a powerhouse cast of stars including Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Tom Waits, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Charlotte Rampling, Indya Moore and Luka Sabbat.

Fire Will Come by Oliver Laxe (CineMart 2017, IFFR 2019)

Convicted arsonist Amador returns to his remote village in the mountainous Spanish region of Galicia. His mother is glad he’s back, but the other villagers don’t trust him. A raging fire breaks out – but did he start it? Or are the property developers destroying this impoverished rural community?

Spanish filmmaker Oliver Lax – who presented Fire Will Come at IFFR Pro’s co-production market CineMart in 2017 – returns to IFFR 2026 with the highly acclaimed Sirât, his most symbolic and shocking film to date, which was shortlisted for five Oscars.

Neighbouring Sounds by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Hubert Bals Fund-supported 2008, 2011; IFFR 2012)

A defining work of contemporary Brazilian cinema, examining class tension, security, and power within an urban neighbourhood in Recife. This debut film was supported twice by IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund, in its development and post-production phases. 

Kleber Mendonça Filho returns to IFFR 2026 with the playful political thriller The Secret Agent – the most awarded film at Cannes this year, winning the Best Director prize for Mendonça Filho, Best Actor for Wagner Moura and the FIPRESCI international film critic prize.

Sand Dollars by Laura Amelia Guzmán & Israel Cárdenas (Hubert Bals Fund 2011, CineMart 2012, IFFR 2015)

The European woman Anne (Geraldine Chaplin) is enjoying a luxurious stay on the coast of the Dominican Republic. Young Noéli makes a living from relationships with tourists. Sand Dollars is a portrait of the complex romance between Anne and Noéli and a loving film about holidays, pleasure, loneliness and morality.

Real-life couple and IFFR-regular Dominican Republic filmmakers Guzmán and Cárdenas’s (La hembrita, IFFR 2023) new film Interior apartamento día will have its European premiere at IFFR 2026 as part of the Harbour programme, exploring the fragility of romantic relationships in times of life changes and economic instability.