CinEast Unveils Programme for 19th Edition

On Thursday 24 September 2026, CinEast, the Central and Eastern European Film Festival in Luxembourg, unveiled the full programme of its nineteenth edition at a press conference held at Cercle Cité in Luxembourg-Ville.

The festival is set to take place from Friday 9 to Sunday 25 October 2026 under the theme "Crossroads", which will be explored through a cycle of fifteen films, three ciné-debates and the festival's annual photography exhibition.

In total, this year's edition will feature more than 120 screenings of over 65 feature films and 60 short films from 20 Central and Eastern European countries. Alongside the film screenings, the programme will include six concerts, six ciné-debates, exhibitions, tributes, special evenings and encounters with around 30 guests. A selection of films will also be available online.

Following last year's focus on Poland, this year's country focus will be Bulgaria, with seven feature films, several short films and four Bulgarian guests, including two directors, a producer and an artist. The programme will also feature two concerts with Bulgarian musicians and a tribute to filmmakers Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov. Among the films highlighted as part of the Bulgarian programme are:

• My Father's Shoes, directed by Pavel G Vesnakov;

• Black Money for White Nights, directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov;

• In Hell with Ivo, directed by Kristina Nikolova.

CinEast will continue its special programme dedicated to Ukraine, an initiative maintained in different forms since 2022. This year's programme will include six Ukrainian feature films and two debates.

Festival organisers said they had sought to present different perspectives on the country, showing not only destruction caused by the war but also the resilience and solidarity of Ukrainians.

CinEast4Ukraine will also continue its charity activities. During the press conference, organisers said the initiative had raised approximately €52,000 since 2022, financing four ambulances sent to Ukraine.

Festival organisers also highlighted six films presented at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival which audiences will have an opportunity to discover at CinEast. The selection includes: Fatherland, by Paweł Pawlikowski (Poland); The Dreamed Adventure, by Valeska Grisebach (Germany); The Diary of a Chambermaid, by Radu Jude (Romania); Moulin, by László Nemes (Hungary); Fjord, by Cristian Mungiu (Romania); and Ulya, by Viesturs Kairišs (Latvia).

Fatherland, which received the Best Director Award at this year's Cannes Film Festival, will be an opening film of the CinEast festival, taking place on Friday 9 October 2026 at 19:00 at Kinepolis in Luxembourg-Kirchberg. The film has also been selected as Poland's submission for the Academy Awards.

The organisers also unveiled their ten "coups de cœur" (favourites) from this year's programme: Sátántangó, by Béla Tarr (Hungary, Germany, Switzerland); I Matter, by Alina Șerban (Romania); Black Money for White Nights, by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov (Bulgaria, Greece); Erupcja, by Pete Ohs (Poland, United States (US)); Outliving Shakespeare, by Inna Sahakyan and Ruben Ghazaryan (Armenia); In Hell with Ivo, by Kristina Nikolova (Bulgaria, US); The Queen and the Smokehouse, by Iga Lis (Poland); Hunger Strike Breakfast, by Karolis Kaupinis (Lithuania, Czech Republic, Latvia); Franz, by Agnieszka Holland (Czech Republic, Germany, Poland); and Our Father, by Goran Stanković (Serbia, Italy, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina).

The wider programme also includes eleven films selected by their respective countries as candidates for the Academy Awards, as well as several short-film marathons.

The festival will also feature six ciné-debates, with discussions following the selected screenings. The programme includes: The Eukrainian, by Viktor Nordenskiöld; Anatomy of Ordinary Crimes, by Adina Sădeanu; Second Wind, by Masha Kondakova; Fragments of Belonging, by Tatjana Božić; Feels Like Home, by Gábor Holtai; and Not Made for Politics, by Volia Chajkouskaya.

Seven films will compete in CinEast's main competition: A Safe Place, by Cecilia Ștefănescu; Era, by Blerta Basholli; Everything As It Should Be, by Bohdan Karásek; Honey Bunny, by Igor Jelinović; Only Beautiful Things to Look At, by Ivan Ostrochovský; Shame and Money, by Visar Morina; and Tell Me What You Feel, by Łukasz Ronduda.

The festival will once again feature international, press and young talent juries.

CinEast will also present several tributes as part of its nineteenth edition. A retrospective will mark the centenary of the birth of Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda, with six of his films included in the programme. The festival will also welcome Oscar-winning production designer Allan Starski, known for his work on films including Schindler's List and The Pianist.

The Warm-Up Weekend will include a tribute to Starski, as well as a screening of Béla Tarr's approximately seven-hour Sátántangó.

CinEast will once again offer a programme for children and teenagers, including screenings aimed at teenage audiences, alongside a music programme featuring six concerts and ciné-concerts at venues across Luxembourg-Ville:

• Friday 9 October: Shantel & Bucovina Club Soundsystem at Melusina;

• Saturday 10 October: GloBalKan jazz concert at neimënster;

• Sunday 11 October: ShekBand at neimënster;

• Sunday 18 October: Tartuffe, accompanied live by the Wladigeroff Brothers, at neimënster;

• Tuesday 20 October: The Conductor, accompanied live by Pepol & The People, at the Théâtre des Capucins;

• Friday 23 October: Taqsim Driver at Rotondes.

Tickets will cost €10.50 for screenings in cinemas and €7.50 for online screenings. A reduced cinema rate of €7.50 will be available for people aged under 28 and over 65.

A Festival Pass covering ten screenings will cost €49, with an early-bird price of €39 available until Thursday 1 October 2026.

For further information, visit https://www.cineast.lu/2026/