Programme strands IFFR 2026

• Tiger Competition

  IFFR’s renowned competition honours the innovative and adventurous spirit of promising filmmakers from all over the world.

• Big Screen Competition

  A versatile competition that closes the gap between popular, classic and arthouse cinema.

• Tiger Short Competition

  The power of short. Twenty-two short and mid-length films compete for three equal prizes.

Regular programmes

• Bright Future

  A selection of feature-length debuts, characterised by original subject matter and an individual style, representing the cutting edge of contemporary filmmaking.

• Harbour

  Echoing Rotterdam’s port city identity, Harbour offers a safe haven to the full range of contemporary cinema that the festival champions.

• Limelight

  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.

• RTM

  IFFR puts the spotlight firmly on films and makers from our city on the River Maas. The selection was made by this year’s RTM curators: Hasret Emine, Suzanne Koopstra and Tim van Hooft (Timaeus). Discover a programme chock-full of short and longer films, documentaries, talks, music, art and performances. RTM revolves around talented artists and stories from 010 with an impact far beyond, revealing the riches of Rotterdam in all its glory.

• Short & Mid-length

  Just as long as it takes. The Short & Mid-length film programme offers a unique showcase of films under 64 minutes.

Thematic programmes

• Cinema Regained

  A sphere of collective remembrance and imagination offering restored classics, documentaries on film culture, and explorations of cinema’s heritage.

• Focus: Collectif Faire-Part

  Spanning two continents, Collectif Faire-Part is an ensemble of Belgian and Congolese artists exploring Belgium’s colonial history, contemporary power dynamics and collective resistance rooted in decolonisation. Through a multidisciplinary practice encompassing film, photography and performance, the collective articulates new narratives about Kinshasa, Brussels and the ties that bind them.

• Focus: Marwan Hamed

  From mystery thrillers, corruption dramas and crime epics, to historical sagas and the biopic genre, Marwan Hamed has proven to be a master at combining grand emotions, astonishing mise-en-scène and breathtaking performances in his cinema. IFFR is particularly proud to present his body of work spanning 20 years in his first European retrospective.

• Focus: Tetsuya Maruyama

  Tetsuya Maruyama is a Japanese multidisciplinary artist based in Rio de Janeiro. Though working mostly in analogue film, his works range from performance to installation, text to found sound compilations. Our programme puts this diversity on full display, as we discover his exploration of the quotidian carefully observed and dissected by lens and emulsion, microphone and pen.

• Focus: The Future Is NOW

  IFFR celebrates the 60th anniversary of the founding of NOW (National Organisation for Women), a major moment in the history of the Civil Rights movement as well as Second Wave Feminism. This programme explores women’s cinemas from different periods, confronting early hopes with later developments, and stresses authors and practices less commonly explored, with a special emphasis on animation.

• Focus: V-Cinema

  Japan’s direct-to-video phenomenon V-Cinema emerged in the late 1980s and left a lasting mark in contemporary film culture. The V-Cinema production model responded to the rise of video rental, by producing films that were not released in cinemas. This approach allowed directors to work quickly, economically and with remarkable creative freedom. This programme features a combination of early works by now-famous auteurs, through to discoveries that have rarely been seen outside Japan.