Tips from IFFR ambassador Octavie Ide

In my recommendations below, you’ll notice I gravitate toward queer stories, especially lesbian ones, but always intuitively and never exclusively. One thing they all share is simple: they caught my attention, and I want to share the experience of encountering them. Cinema isn’t cinema if it isn’t shared. It’s what happens on-screen, and off-screen, but also what happens right after; in cafés, on Letterboxd, walking home. It’s talking about how we structure our understanding of the world. Who gets to speak, who is seen. And it’s also fun. Sometimes just fun. Here we go: 

La belle année

Angelica Ruffier | Sweden, Norway | 2026 | 95′
It seems to be an almost universal experience for queer women; the inexplicably great admiration we had for that one high-school teacher. Under the spell of the most recent psychological self-diagnosis trending on social media, limerence, I’m very curious to see how director Angelica Ruffier revisits her teenage crush in La belle année. As a sucker for essayistic, often semi-confessional autofiction — think of Fleur Pierets’ Heerlijk Monster, Chris Kraus’ I Love Dick and Carmen Maria Machado’s In the Dream House — I’m suspect this hybrid doc will linger with me for just a little too long. I rad it’s cinematically inspired by the Dardenne brothers, which has this Belgian ready to fact-check.

The Testament of Ann Lee

Mona Fastvold | United Kingdom | 2025 | 137′
I’ve been a fan of lead Amanda Seyfried since day one*, and Mona Fastvold’s previous feature, the sapphic heart-breaker and opener of the June chapter of the 2020 COVID-restricted IFFR edition, The World to Come, hurt me in just the right way. Sometimes it really is that simple: I 100% trust that I will enjoy The Testament of Ann Lee.

*”There’s a 30% chance that it’s already raining!” will forever be one of my favorite lines. Yes, that’s a Mean Girls reference. And no, as far as I know, it has nothing to do with The Testament of Ann Lee, other than being delivered by Amanda Seyfried. 

Tiger Talk: Queerness and 21st-century politics

Talk | IFFR Pro
I wrote my master’s thesis, on lesbian representation in film, for the largest part under COVID-restrictions. In some ways, that allowed for deep research rabbit holes; in others, it meant missing out on real-life conversations. Still catching up on those, I was very happy to find this talk, in which “queerness (…) is understood not only as a subject on screen, but as an approach to form and collaboration” on the IFFR 2026 program. For what’s mere queer visibility worth if the cinematic apparatus can only other what we wish for it to represent? Towards a common language and a system that can hold our essence. 

100 Nights of Hero by Julia Jackman

Julia Jackman | United Kingdom, Ireland | 2025 | 92′
I love me a pop-cultural phenomenon (Charli xcx in her acting debut) as a Trojan Horse to draw new audiences into arthouse. 100 Nights of Hero is based on the One Thousand and One Nights folktale, which fits right in with me dabbling in works inspired by folktale over the last couple of months, trying to shape my own interpretation of écriture féminine. (There’s that thesis again.) The trailer gave me a strong Alice in Wonderland feel as well; I’m ready to be entertained. 

Sirāt + componist Kangding Ray’s set at Club IFFR

Oliver Laxe | Spain, France | 2025 | 120′
Last, but not least: is it a festival if there’s no dancing? I picked up some friends from a Brussels Sirāt pre-screening I couldn’t join because of work, and they all were thoroughly tripped out and flabbergasted by it. Since I’ve been soothing my FOMO by listening to the (Golden Globe-nominated!) Sirāt-soundtrack on repeat. So, obviously, I’m looking forward to catching up on the film and to hearing Kangding Ray include the soundtrack in a rave set right after. 

If you read all the way to this point: congratulations! In case you recognise me in real life (from the picture at the top of this post) at one of the festival locations: feel free to come say hi and share your recommendations with me.