A Journey Through Imagination: The 2026 Festival Programme Is Revealed

This September, the Festival du film Merveilleux & Imaginaire returns to Paris for its 16th edition, bringing together 26 short films from 12 countries for three evenings of bold, poetic and unexpected cinema.

From 16 to 18 September 2026, the Christine Cinéma Club will become a meeting place for filmmakers and audiences drawn to stories that challenge reality, explore inner worlds and open new perspectives on contemporary life.

Once again, the Festival will be held under the patronage of the French National Commission for UNESCO, recognising its commitment to cultural diversity, education, inclusion and intercultural dialogue.

Three evenings, three ways of looking at the world

The 2026 programme unfolds across three thematic sessions, each offering a different journey through memory, identity, resilience and imagination.

What We Carry Within Us

The opening evening explores the emotions, memories and invisible experiences that shape who we are.

The programme includes the French film Grown Up Day, directed by David Caspir, alongside At Night by Iranian filmmaker Pooya Afzali and Gian by Hamed Yousefi.

French cinema is also represented by La Reine, Nos âmes fugitives, Le vent se lève and Bourreau des Cœurs, while the UK film The Skin I’m In brings another perspective to this intimate and emotionally driven session.

The evening begins with an opening cocktail at 7:00 p.m., followed by the screening at 7:30 p.m.

Looking It in the Face

The second session turns towards the realities we are sometimes reluctant to confront.

Migration, education, resilience, solidarity and environmental responsibility run through a programme that includes Hope by Jamal Ademola, Above by Dmitry Borzykin and the Irish animated film The Cloud Herder by Aidan McAteer.

The selection also features Sulaimani by Vinnie Anne Bose, Immigrant by Nilram Ranjbar, Omnivore by Daria Garonika, Share the Happiness by Azimjon Rahimjonov, Lignes de vie by Bruno Richaud and BRIDGE — My Little Friends by Kazuyuki Ishihara.

The screening begins at 7:30 p.m.

The Imagination and Its Shadows

The final evening moves into more mysterious territory, where fantasy, transformation and darker emotions come to the surface.

The programme includes Un coup de pinceau by Stéphane Martinet, El Din by Julien Regnard and Pascal Giraud, What Keeps Us Together by Sergei Annenkov and La ferme de papi, created by a team of emerging French filmmakers.

Audiences will also discover Strive by Jussi Rautaniemi, Le secret de Dracula — Piwooz Music-Hall by Giovanni Gasparetto, Sequencial by Bruno Caetano, Don’t Dust Up by Anastasia Pastory and Les bottes de la nuit by Pierre-Luc Granjon.

The screening begins at 7:30 p.m., followed by the closing cocktail and awards ceremony.

Cinema through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals

For the first time, the Festival is also reading its selection through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Where relevant, films are connected to themes including education, health and well-being, gender equality, reduced inequalities, sustainable communities, climate action and peace.

This approach does not reduce the films to messages. Instead, it offers audiences another way to enter the stories and reflect on the questions they raise.

A meeting of stories, cultures and perspectives

The Festival du film Merveilleux & Imaginaire has always looked beyond borders.

By bringing together filmmakers from France, Iran, Russia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Japan, Finland and several other countries, the 2026 edition continues to make cinema a space for curiosity, dialogue and shared discovery.

The members of the 2026 Jury will be announced soon.