The 23rd edition of IndieLisboa has been fully unveiled, featuring a program of 241 films, including both short and feature-length films.
International Competition
Many of the films in the International Competition explore unresolved family traumas or deadlocks in intimacy. These feature and short films transcend the boundaries of genre, form, and geography. In 2026, this section features 10 feature films and 33 short films.
Sophy Romvari’s debut feature, Blue Heron, follows a Hungarian family’s move to Vancouver Island, Canada. Through the perspective of the youngest daughter, we are confronted with this intimate upheaval.
From Brazil, I Built a Rocket Imagining Your Arrival, by Janaína Marques, proposes an imagined journey with the purpose of creating happy memories, which Rosa, lying on an MRI table, cannot find within herself.
Meanwhile, Dry Leaf, by Georgian filmmaker Alexandre Koberidze, tells the story of a father’s search for his daughter, who has set out to fulfill her long-held dream: to photograph soccer fields overgrown with vegetation and weathered by time.
National Competition
In one of the festival’s most important sections, new voices once again take center stage alongside more established filmmakers. In 2026, there are 29 films in competition, 16 of which are world premieres.
After being selected to open the Rotterdam Film Festival, João Nicolau’s A Providência e a Guitarra comes to IndieLisboa in an entertaining journey through time, featuring singer Salvador Sobral in the cast.
In Fordlândia Panacea, the second film by Susana de Sousa Dias, we explore a Ford industrial complex in the Amazon that rejects the label of “ghost town.”
In 18 Holes to Paradise, by João Nuno Pinto, family issues are addressed, and the same story (of a rural property) is told from different perspectives.
This is also the largest selection of short films in the history of the National Competition, with 21 entries.
Two and a Cat is the debut film by Patrícia Saramago, a prominent figure in Portuguese film editing who passed away last October and will be honored with a retrospective at the Cinemateca Portuguesa in late April.
André Santos and Marco Leão, a duo who have appeared at IndieLisboa on several occasions, return with Alive and Dead: the daughter goes on vacation and the father is left in charge of her cat, but the cat is nowhere to be found.
Silvestre
This competitive section makes uniqueness its hallmark. In this edition, Silvestre brings together seven feature films that offer a touch of irreverence and reflect the festival’s rebellious spirit.
In By Design, by Amanda Kramer, a satire on the objectification of women, Camille (Juliette Lewis) swaps bodies with a chair and realizes that everyone prefers this new version of herself.
My Wife Cries, by Angela Schanelec, is about a rift in a relationship between a couple in contemporary Berlin.
Short films remain a strong component of Silvestre. This year, 16 films will be presented, with a highlight being the new work by Jan Soldat, making its world premiere. The German director, who was a focus at IndieLisboa in 2015, continues his exploration of fetishism and sexuality with Playing Drunk.
Rhizome
The successor to the Special Screenings section once again presents a diverse lineup: 12 feature films, one series, and four short films, featuring prominent filmmakers and themes that reflect current events.
Among the highlights are films starring outstanding actors: Rose, by Markus Schleinzer, featuring Sandra Hüller (Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlinale), and The Blood Countess, by Ulrike Ottinger, featuring Isabelle Huppert in a vampire role.
Also noteworthy is the selection of Portuguese films: Auto da Casa, by Tiago Bartolomeu Costa and Joana Cunha Ferreira; Esse Olhar que é só teu, by Luísa Sequeira; Mulheres de Abril, by Raquel Freire; Não Desviar o Olhar, by Júlio Alves; and O Velho Salazar, by João Botelho.
The section also includes a tribute to João Canijo, with a screening of Noite Escura – Director’s Cut, a film that was part of the Competition at the 1st edition of IndieLisboa.
Brand New
The Brand New section has served as a common ground for young filmmakers at the start of their careers or still completing their studies.
In 2026, the section offers us 13 short films with very distinct styles. In Where Fireflies Sparkle, by Clara Vieira, a group of teenage friends goes camping: love and a swarm of fireflies.
(as)sento, by Pedro Domingos, is an experimental piece that suggests a dance of objects, with chairs taking the place of people.
Actor João Nunes Monteiro makes his directorial debut with We Were Just Brats: a queer coming-of-age story set at a summer camp in 2007.
