16/01/2026 - Revolving around young talent, the 38th edition of the festival will unspool between 17 and 25 January with a Focus dedicated to Werner Herzog, Karin Viard and Laetitia Dosch

Tomorrow will see Pascal Bonitzer’s Hugo (toplined by Fabrice Luchini) opening the 38th Angers European First Film Festival (running 17 to 25 January), an event which has helped shine a light, since its early days, on scores of young talent from the Old Continent, many of whom have since confirmed their potential within the highest ranks of European arthouse cinema.

The 10 feature films battling it out in this year’s international competition will be pored over by a jury led by director Thomas Cailley who’ll be supported by Laura Wandel, India Hair and Antoine Reinartz. These movies notably include Sundays [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
film profile] by Spain’s Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (triumphant in San Sebastián), What Marielle Knows [+see also:
film review
interview: Frédéric Hambalek
film profile] by Germany’s Frédéric Hambalek (unveiled in competition in Berlin), Wild Foxes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valéry Carnoy
film profile] by Belgium’s Valéry Carnoy (awarded the Europa Cinemas Label and crowned the SACD’s Film Crush in the Directors’ Fortnight) and Pillion [+see also:
film review
film profile] by British director Harry Lighton (awarded Best Screenplay in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section).

Likewise in on the action are Silent Rebellion [+see also:
film review
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interview: Marie-Elsa Sgualdo
film profile] by Switzerland’s Marie-Elsa Sgualdo (presented in Venice’s Spotlight line-up), Deaf [+see also:
film review
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interview: Eva Libertad
film profile] by Spain’s Eva Libertad (the winner of the Audience Award in Berlin’s Panorama section), the Italian-Moroccan-American animation Bouchra [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Orian Yani Barki and Meriem Bennani (discovered in Toronto’s Platform line-up), The Last One for the Road [+see also:
film review
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interview: Francesco Sossai
film profile] by Italy’s Francesco Sossai (unveiled in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section), The Son and the Sea [+see also:
film review
interview: Stroma Cairns, Imogen West
film profile] by British director Stroma Cairns (discovered in Toronto and also screened in San Sebastian’s New Directors showcase) and A Light that Never Goes Out by Finland’s Lauri-Matti Parppei (selected in Cannes’ ACID line-up).

The competitive Diagonale section, revolving around especially audacious works, notably includes the feature films Last Night I Conquered the City of Thebes [+see also:
film review
interview: Gabriel Azorín
film profile] by Spain’s Gabriel Azorín (discovered in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori line-up), Before/After [+see also:
film review
interview: Manoël Dupont
film profile] by Belgium’s Manoël Dupont (screened in Karlovy Vary’s Proxima competition), the documentary Autostop by Switzerland’s Roman Hüben, and the animated movie Dandelion’s Odyssey [+see also:
film review
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interview: Momoko Seto
film profile] by Japan’s Momoko Seto (unveiled in Cannes’ Critics’ Week and triumphant in Annecy).

Stealing focus among the various premieres on the festival agenda are La maison des femmes by Mélisa Godet, Silent Friend [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ildikó Enyedi
film profile] by Hungary’s Ildikó Enyedi, Grand ciel [+see also:
film review
interview: Akihiro Hata
film profile] by Hakihiro Hata, the animated movie Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake [+see also:
film review
interview: Irene Iborra
film profile] by Spain’s Irene Iborra Rizo, Couture [+see also:
film review
interview: Alice Winocour, Louis Garrel
film profile] by Alice Winocour, The Testament of Ann Lee [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Norway’s Mona Fastvold, Urchin [+see also:
film review
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interview: Harris Dickinson
film profile] by British director Harris Dickinson, Le Gâteau du président by Iraq’s Hasan Hadi (set to close the festival), and three documentaries, namely IN-I in Motion by Juliette Binoche, The Return of the Projectionist [+see also:
film review
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interview: Orkhan Aghazadeh
film profile] by Azerbaijan’s Orkhan Aghazadeh and Life After Siham by Egyptian-born French director Namir Abdel Meseeh.

The line-up also includes, among other events, focus sessions and retrospectives (dedicated to actresses Karin Viard and Laetitia Dosch, who’ll also be meeting with the public, German filmmaker Werner Hertzog, the city of Naples in film, and courtroom dramas), short film competitions (with Iris Kaltenbäck heading up the jury), the Angers Workshops, and the usual screenplay readings (primarily for the feature films Chien noir by Nyima Cartier, Une de perdue, une de perdue by Mathilde Elu and Tu feras tomber les rois by Maïté Sonnet).

(Translated from French)