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29 Jan – 8 Feb 2026

Limelight

Programme IFFR 2026

Bringing the year’s most talked-about cinema and major premieres to Rotterdam, Limelight is a feast for all. From genre gems to award-winners and audience-pleasers, the section offers a vibrant selection that welcomes first-timers and rewards seasoned festivalgoers alike.

Still: The Secret Agent, dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho

Overview of films

  • ChaO

    Aoki Yasuhiro | 90' | Japan | Dutch Premiere

    Human and merfolk negotiations capsize, and Stephan finds himself accidentally engaged to a mermaid princess.

  • Dead Man’s Wire

    Gus Van Sant | 104' | USA | Dutch Premiere

    Gus Van Sant’s exhilarating true-tale of a man who stood up against an unjust mortgage system.

  • El Sett

    Marwan Hamed | 155' | Egypt | European premiere

    A graceful and lavish portrait of legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.

  • L’étranger

    François Ozon | 120' | France | Dutch Premiere

    Albert Camus’ classic existentialist novel brought dramatically alive by François Ozon as a film noir.

  • Exit 8

    Kawamura Genki | 95' | Japan | Dutch Premiere

    A young man is trapped in an endless loop in the Japanese subway in this existential horror.

  • Father Mother Sister Brother

    Jim Jarmusch | 110' | USA | Dutch Premiere

    Jim Jarmusch’s intimate elegy on familial relations unfolds across three star-studded vignettes, earning him the Golden Lion at Venice.

  • Gavagai

    Ulrich Köhler | 89' | Germany | Dutch Premiere

  • The History of Sound

    Oliver Hermanus | 128' | USA | Dutch Premiere

    A bittersweet chronicle of the relationship between two music students in the early 20th century, starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor.

  • No Other Choice

    Park Chan-wook | 139' | South Korea | Dutch Premiere

    To regain his dream life, Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) gets deadly creative in Park Chan-wook’s absurd, macabre comedy.

  • La petite dernière

    Hafsia Herzi | 108' | France | Dutch Premiere

    A tender coming-of-age portrait of a lesbian French-Algerian woman navigating desire, faith and selfhood.

  • Quezon

    Jerrold Tarog | 138' | Philippines | European premiere

    A savvy, seductive politician schemes his way to power in this biting historical satire.

  • The Secret Agent

    Kleber Mendonça Filho | 161' | Brazil | Dutch Premiere

    A university professor (Wagner Moura) flees persecution with the help of a resistance network during Brazil’s dictatorship.