26/02/2026 - The event foregrounds a cinema addressing issues such as war, migration, family conflict and social precarity across fiction and documentary strands

The 16th Luxembourg City Film Festival (5-15 March) has revealed the key highlights of its upcoming edition, marked by a surprising and unplanned recurrence: several works, though diverse in form and territory, evoke the colour pink and the rose as spaces of friction, where the violence of reality meets human fragility. Under the banner “Wild, Wild Rose”, this year’s programme invites audiences to forget or confront the woes of the world.

Kicking off on 5 March, the festival opens with Rose [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Markus Schleinzer, following its selection in the Berlinale competition. The film follows a woman’s quest for self-acceptance through a rigorously controlled formal approach with Sandra Hüller delivering a performance already widely praised. The festival’s awards ceremony on 14 March will feature The Blood Countess [+see also:
film review
interview: Ulrike Ottinger
film profile] by Ulrike Ottinger, a jubilant, gothic vampire mystery starring Isabelle Huppert. Closing the festival is Rosebush Pruning [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Karim Aïnouz, also unveiled in Berlin.

Over 1,000 films were reviewed in order to arrive at the final selection for 2026, with the Official Competition once again serving as its showcase. Nine films are vying for the festival’s Grand Prix, offering a prize of €10,000, to be decided upon by the international jury led by Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen, who is joined by Argentine director Lisandro Alonso, British musician and actor Peter Doherty, Finnish actress Alma Pöysti, French actress Emmanuelle Béart, and Singaporean filmmaker and cinematographer Rae Lyn Lee.

The films are: Rose (Austria/Germany) by Markus Schleinzer; Nina Roza [+see also:
film review
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interview: Geneviève Dulude-de Celles
film profile] (Canada/Bulgaria/Italy/Belgium) by Geneviève Dulude-De Celles, also screened at the Berlinale, and winner of the Best Screenplay award; How to Divorce During the War [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrius Blaževičius
film profile] by Andrius Blaževičius (Lithuania/Luxembourg/Ireland/Czech Republic), awarded for Best Directing in Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic section; Blue Heron [+see also:
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film profile] by Sophy Romvari (Canada/Hungary), Best First Feature in Locarno last year; My Father’s Shadow [+see also:
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interview: Akinola Davies Jr
film profile] by Akinola Davies Jr. (UK/Ireland/Nigeria), Caméra d’Or Special Mention in Cannes last year; last year’s Venice Orizzonti entries Human Resource by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit (Thailand) and Rose of Nevada [+see also:
film review
interview: Mark Jenkin
film profile] by Mark Jenkin (UK); Mad Bills to Pay by Joel Alfonso Vargas (USA), screened in last year’s Berlinale Perspectives, and Feels Like Home [+see also:
film review
interview: Gábor Holtai
film profile] by Gábor Holtai (Hungary).

Merging animated, hybrid and traditional forms, six documentaries will be vying for the Documentary Prize, worth €5,000: Mailin by María Silvia Esteve (Argentina/France/Romania), Memory [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vladlena Sandu
film profile] by Vladlena Sandu (France/Netherlands), With Hasan in Gaza [+see also:
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interview: Kamal Aljafari
interview: Kamal Aljafari
film profile] by Kamal Aljafari (Palestine/Germany/France/Qatar), My Father and Qaddafi by Jihan K (USA/Libya), Seeds by Brittany Shyne (USA) and Endless Cookie by Peter Scriver and Seth Scriver (Canada). The documentary jury features Aurélie Godet (Cork International Film Festival), Camille Chanod (LaCinetek), Dögg Mósesdóttir (Stockfish Film Festival), Francesca Cristallo (Matera Film Festival) and Lisa Hoen (Tromsø International Film Festival).

In addition to its competitions, the Made In/With Luxembourg selection showcases a diverse array of works (co-)produced in Luxembourg. Alongside The Blood Countess and How to Divorce During the War, the line-up includes All My Sisters [+see also:
film review
interview: Massoud Bakhshi
film profile] by Massoud Bakhshi (Austria/France/Germany/Iran), produced by Amour Fou; Apple & Pears by Lukas Grevis (Luxembourg); Exile [+see also:
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interview: Mehdi Hmili
film profile] by Mehdi Hmili (Tunisia/Luxembourg/France/Qatar/Saudi Arabia), produced in collaboration with Tarantula; Getting There by Nora Wagner (Luxembourg/Belgium), supported by Filmreakter and Kulturfabrik; Kurak by Erke Dzhumakmatova and Emil Atageldiev (Kyrgyzstan/Switzerland/Serbia/France/Luxembourg/Netherlands), produced by Deal Productions; Morte Cucina by Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Thailand/Singapore/Luxembourg/USA/Taiwan), also co-produced by Deal Productions; We’ll Find Happiness by Léa Pool (Canada/Luxembourg), a co-production by Iris Productions; Projecto Global [+see also:
film review
interview: Ivo M Ferreira
film profile] by Ivo M. Ferreira (Portugal/Luxembourg), co-produced by Tarantula; Utopolis by Vladimir Subotic (Greece/Luxembourg), a Deal Productions co-production; The Wolf, the Fox & the Leopard [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by David Verbeek (Netherlands/Luxembourg/Ireland/Croatia/Taiwan), co-produced by Deal Productions; and Women as Lovers [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Koxi (Germany/Luxembourg), produced by Amour Fou. On the short-film side, nine works will screen once during the day and once in the evening in collaboration with the Filmakademie Luxembourg.

For the second year, LuxFilmFest will dedicate an evening to series, presenting an exclusive screening of season 3 of Quickies, the initiative launched by Filmreakter in 2020 during the pandemic, in collaboration with RTL.