12/03/2026 - From 25-29 March, Eye Filmmuseum will host the International Dance Film Festival, which boasts a packed and international programme

From 25-29 March, the Cinedans FEST International Dance Film Festival returns to Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam for its 22nd edition, with a packed and international programme that brings together the beauty of dance and the power of film.

For this new edition, Cinedans FEST will present, in a selection of 110 films across 53 countries, the most urgent, poetic and innovative dance films of the moment: from international shorts, feature films and documentaries to special screenings, retrospectives, talks, installations and VR.

The cinema programming includes the International Short Film Competition, with 29 films from 26 countries competing for the coveted prizes, the Cinedans Jury Award and the Cinedans Encouragement Award; and, for the first time, the International Short Docs Competition, with 12 films from 11 countries competing for this new award. Cinedans FEST also presents two New Dutch programmes showcasing the recent work of both established and emerging Dutch filmmakers and choreographers, with films by Emma Evelein, Miloushka Bokma, Siba Sahabi and others. There will be Features & Documentaries programmes, including Eva Stefani's Bull’s Heart, about world-renowned director and choreographer Dimitris Papaioanno. In addition, each year, Cinedans FEST presents a series of special programmes offering a broader perspective on dance culture, creators and history. This year’s edition includes specials such as Breaking the Chains #2, which explores postcolonial themes and gives space to underrepresented stories; and Echoes of a Body of Work, with a selection of films from different periods by Hans van Manen, Krisztina de Châtel, René Hazekamp and Dick Hauser.

Cinedans is a hybrid festival: from 26 March-5 April, Cinedans WEB Festival will show the dance films on the festival’s website. A wide selection of movies from the cinema programming in Amsterdam, including the entire selection from the International Short Film and Short Docs Competition and from the New Dutch programmes, will also be available on the web platform. The website will also include exclusive programmes with, for example, a selection of five one-minute dance films from the international screen dance competition La Danza in 1 Minuto, in collaboration with COORPI in Turin, Italy; the feature documentaries Omega Wants to Dance by director Ramon Tort and Last Dance at the Sundance Stompede by director Graham Clayton-Chance; and the Online Diamond Shorts programme, with nine films where dance meets memory, myth and resistance. With the online Cinedans WEB Festival pass, viewers can enjoy the film programmes wherever they want and as much as they want until 5 April.

The full line-up and tickets for Cinedans FEST are available here, and more information about the jury and awards can be found here. Find the full line-up and online festival pass for Cinedans WEB Festival here.