Alþjóðleg kvikmyndahátíð í Reykjavík fer fram 24. september til 4. október. Í dagskrá hátíðarinnar kennir að vanda ýmissa grasa og í ár eru níu myndir í aðalkeppnisflokknum Vitrunum.
In New Visions, directors present their first or second feature-length film and compete for the Golden Puffin, RIFF’s main award. Each year, the competition gives audiences the opportunity to discover emerging filmmakers from different parts of the world. The winner will be announced at the RIFF awards ceremony during the festival’s closing event on Saturday, October 3, at 5:00 p.m. in the hall 3 in Háskolabió.
“The nine films in this year’s New Visions competition take us to very different places, but each one portrays people at a moment when life takes an unexpected turn,” says Hrönn Marinósdóttir, RIFF’s festival director. “These are stories about young people searching for their place in the world, families forced to confront change, and imaginations that open up new ways of seeing reality. That is precisely what we look for in RIFF’s competition: filmmakers with a distinctive voice and the courage to tell stories that stay with us.”
The following films are competing this year:
A day in the life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra
Director: Jacqueline Lentzou
The film follows 15-year-old Jo on a day that begins like any other but becomes a profound journey of self-discovery. Phaedra’s captivating singing awakens new feelings in her, while dreamlike memories, her relationship with her volatile mother, and an unexpected tragedy intertwine in a poetic story about love, loss, and the boundaries between life and death.
It is worth noting that director Lentzou is no stranger to RIFF. She received the Golden Egg in 2014 for her short film Thirteen Blue, and the Golden Puffin in 2021 for her debut feature, Moon, 66 Questions.
Adult Supervision
Director: Alex Schulman
Three fathers accompany their daughters on a school trip to a remote island. Once there, old memories resurface, bringing tensions to the surface until the adults lose control of the situation. Who is really in charge – and just how dangerous is the situation?
The film is Sweden’s entry for the 2026 Academy Awards, and director Schulman is one of Sweden’s best-known writers. Gustav Skarsgård, brother of Alexander Skarsgård – this year’s RIFF guest of honour – also stars in one of the leading roles.
Chronovisor
Directors: Jack Auen, Kevin Walker
An armchair mystery in which the life of a reclusive academic collides with the story of a clandestine technology that can photograph the past.
Chronovisor has attracted considerable critical acclaim, topping the ratings of international critics when it had its world premiere in the Bright Future competition at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).
Club Kid
Director: Jordan Firstman
Club Kid is an award-winning film about Peter, a hard-partying New York nightclub entertainer who lives a reckless and hedonistic life. Suddenly, he discovers that he has a ten-year-old son he never knew existed. Forced to take responsibility for the boy, his life gradually begins to change. The film blends humor, nightlife, emotion, and a story about unexpected fatherhood and growing up.
The film marks Firstman’s feature directorial debut. He also wrote the screenplay and stars in the film. It became one of the most talked-about films at Cannes, sparking fierce competition for its distribution rights before A24 ultimately acquired the worldwide rights.
Congo Boy
Director: Rafiki Fariala
In Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, 17-year-old Robert dreams of building a future in the music world, but civil war has turned his country upside down. When both of his parents are imprisoned, he is left to care for his four younger siblings on his own. He tries to keep everyday life going, taking on odd jobs, preparing for his school exams, and performing at concerts – determined to make his dream a reality.
The Congo Boy is Fariala’s first narrative feature, following his acclaimed documentary We, Students!, which premiered at RIFF in 2022.
Dua
Director: Blerta Basholli
Dua is set in Pristina in the late 1990s, as tensions between ethnic groups escalate and the Kosovo War draws closer. Just 13 years old, Dua is grappling with the changes of adolescence as well as the difficult circumstances in her society. When a particular incident makes her a target, she forms a close bond with Maki, a courageous girl who encourages her to resist and assert her independence.
Dua is the latest film by Blerta Basholli, who attracted considerable attention with her debut feature, Hive. The film received the SACD Award at Critics’ Week in Cannes.
La Gradiva
Director: Marine Atlan
A class of high school students travels to Pompeii to explore the ruins and the bodies preserved beneath the ash by Mount Vesuvius. The trip becomes a unique moment in which the energy of youth encounters a world where time has stood still. Their desires rise to the surface with unexpected intensity, eventually causing the fragile social dynamic the group has created to unravel.
This highly intriguing feature directorial debut by Marine Atlan won the top prize at Cannes Critics’ Week, the AMI Paris Grand Prize.
Light Pillar / 寒夜灯柱
Director: Xu Zao
The future. Winter. Space travel is no longer a dream. A lonely janitor looks after the grounds of a run-down, bankrupt film studio. One day, however, a romantic journey begins when he meets an actress in a breathtaking virtual world, where the boundaries between reality and imagination become increasingly blurred.
Light Pillar is Xu Zao’s feature directorial debut. The film had its world premiere in the Perspectives section at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival and combines hand-drawn animation with live-action in a uniquely striking way.
Skateboarding Is Not for Girls
Director: Dina Duma
A coming-of-age story set in North Macedonia. The family of 11-year-old Adele is struggling with severe poverty and turns to the centuries-old tradition of marrying off its daughters. As Adele tries to save her sister from this fate, she enters a skateboarding competition in an attempt to reclaim her freedom and hope.
Dua is Dina Duma’s second feature film and won the Nora Ephron Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The winner will be announced at the RIFF awards ceremony during the festival’s closing event on Saturday, October 3, at 5:00 p.m. in the main hall of Nordic House.
