Tilda Swinton and The Secret Agent director and international Oscar hopeful Kleber Mendonça Filho will be among the big names attending the 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), while the lineup of talks for its 55th edition features the likes of John Lithgow.
IFFR will take place Jan. 29- Feb. 8 and present two strands of conversations: Big Talks, “featuring dialogues between world-renowned minds from diverse disciplines,” and Tiger Talks, “offering explorations of film-related themes and addressing issues including feminism, the legacy of colonialism, and cinema’s sociopolitical role,” organizers said on Thursday. In addition, the IFFR Pro Dialogues program of industry-focused discussions will be held during the IFFR Pro Days, running Jan. 30-Feb. 4.
IFFR said its “special guests” presenting their titles in selection will include Swinton and Cynthia Beatt (Heart of Light – eleven songs for Fiji), Annemarie Jacir (Palestine 36), Olivier Assayas (The Wizard of the Kremlin), Mario Martone (Fuori), Mendonça Filho, Ildikó Enyedi (Silent Friend), Sergei Loznitsa (Two Prosecutors), Kent Jones (Late Fame), Pom Klementieff and Guillaume Nicloux (Mi amor), and Mascha Schilinski (Sound of Falling).
Further guests include Malek Bensmail and Nabil Asli (The Arab), Pascal Bonitzer (Hugo), Alauda Ruíz de Azua (Sundays), David Verbeek and Jessica Reynolds (The Wolf, the Fox, the Leopard), Nanouk Leopold (Whitetail), Adrian Garcia Bogliano, Gigi Saul Guerrero and Eugenio Rubio (Talking to a Stranger), Riccardo Milani (Life is Life), Andrea di Stefano (My Tennis Maestro) and Christoffer Boe (Special Unit – The First Murder).
Said Vanja Kaludjercic, festival director at IFFR: “Through IFFR’s distinct programming, we’re committed to opening a space for ideas that captivate, inspire and entertain – and our Talks lineup is an integral part of delivering on this. We hope this year’s offering will again spark vital dialogue and engagement by giving audiences a thought-provoking array of discussions, each offering fresh perspectives and unexpected discoveries.”
Check out the full lineup of IFFR 2026 talks below.
BIG TALKS
A Queer Family Affair
This talk will bring together the cast of Jimpa (IFFR 2026). “Hanna van Vliet will moderate a conversation with renowned actor John Lithgow and the Dutch cast (including Hans Kesting, Romana Vrede and Zoë Love Smith), for a conversation exploring the film’s creative origins, cross-cultural collaboration and themes of identity, legacy and chosen family,” organizers said.
Kleber Mendonça Filho and Carla Simón
Kleber Mendonça Filho and Carla Simón discuss “how cinema can give form to memory, intimate and historical alike, while blending realism with genre on one side and formal experimentation with deeply personal storytelling on the other,” according to the fest.
Marwan Hamed and Yousry Nasrallah
Two legends of Egyptian cinema, filmmaker Marwan Hamed, whose works are celebrated in IFFR’s 2026 retrospective, and director Yousry Nasrallah will discuss Hamed’s biopic El Sett (IFFR 2026) as well as highlights from their filmmaking careers.
Nicolas Becker and Simon Fisher Turner
A Big Talk featuring French composer and sound engineer Nicolas Becker (Krakatoa, IFFR 2026), winner of an Academy Award for best sound for Sound of Metal, and actor, musician, and sound designer Simon Fisher Turner (Heart of Light – eleven songs for Fiji, IFFR 2026).
Robby Müller Award: Yorick Le Saux
“Two films in IFFR 2026, The Wizard of the Kremlin and Father Mother Sister Brother, showcase the remarkably supple and expressive work of cinematographer Yorick Le Saux, winner of this year’s Robby Müller Award.”
Valeria Golino and Hiam Abbass
Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass (Palestine 36, The Arab, IFFR 2026) and Italian actress Valeria Golino (Fuori, IFFR 2026) will discuss their careers, spanning arthouse cinema and television series.
TIGER TALKS
The Decolonizing Imagination of Collectif Faire-Part
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. This talk brings together its four members: Paul Shemisi, Anne Reijniers, Rob Jacobs and Nizar Saleh.
A Language to Build With
“In this conversation, art directions artists Silvia Gatti (Preludio, installation, IFFR 2026) and Jacco Gardner (Alterity, installation, IFFR 2026), as well as video game pioneer Jeff Minter talk about their creative processes and how they incorporate “machines” into their work.” Moderated by Sanneke Huisman, the talk reflects on how technology changes the way we speak, think, and remember.
Life Lessons From Women Filmmakers
“The founding of the National Organization for Women (NOW) 60 years ago signaled a new era for feminism, and therewith filmmaking by women. What has changed in the decades since? What are the new problems that women who want to make films face? The panel will feature, among others, Renata Gąsiorowska, Laura Laabs and Andrea Luka Zimmerman.”
Tetsuya Maruyama – Small Gauge, Small Means, Big Effect
A conversation exploring the journey of Tetsuya Maruyama’s creation. “Moderated by Lichun Tseng, this conversation reveals how his worlds of emulsion, film, light and sound meet, shaping a vision entirely his own.”
V-Cinema: The Other History of Japanese Film
“There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Okawa Toshimichi or Tsuruta Norio, but they are two of the most influential Japanese filmmakers of the past 40 years. In this conversation, they get to talk about working in V-Cinema and their unique position in Japanese film history.”
Queerness and 21st Century Politics
This panel will focus on reflection on queerness as a creative force. “Rather than framing it as opposition, the discussion explores how queer perspectives open up alternative ways of imagining, making and experiencing film,” the preview reads. “Together, the speakers will consider how contemporary film markets influence artistic choices, and how cinema can continue to make space for risk, complexity and critical thinking. This talk is presented as both a Tiger Talk and as part of the IFFR Pro Dialogues program of industry panels for industry and press delegates at the festival. Further topics in the programinclude the future of African independent cinema, Indigenous storytelling and story sovereignty, sex on screen, and the state and ecology of film festivals.
Original Article on Hollywood Reporter