Luminous | IDFA Festival

Nov 12-22, 2026

Luminous

The premiere-only section Luminous presents a wide range of styles and formalist approaches, from observational to personal to experimental. Across both feature-length and short films, the titles grapple with big questions of life through deeply personal, lived experiences.

A

Agaar

Agaar

A Mongolian herdsman’s son tries to build a livelihood both as a livestock farmer on the grasslands of his native region and through an online presence, but as the years pass, he is forced to rethink his dreams.

Alter Ego

Alter Ego

Mohammad Ali Atassi

For years, exiled Syrian artist Assem Al-Bacha has been working on a giant sculpture of the 11th-century poet Al-Maari, intended to raise awareness of his country. Will the sculpture ever make it home?

B

Back Before 3 P.M.

Back Before 3 P.M.

Gaël Lépingle

Through reenacted scenes, the filmmaker reconstructs the final years of his father's life. For 20 years he had meticulously recorded all his daily activities and expenses with mathematical precision.

The Blood of the Covenant

The Blood of the Covenant

A filmmaker with Cape Verdean roots films his mother in the home where, after more than 40 years of marriage, she will now live alone. As she sorts through her belongings, painful memories sometimes surface, but also liberating new insights.

The Brush in Your Hand

The Brush in Your Hand

Charlotte Dumas

A portrait of painter Peter Dumas, the father of photographer and filmmaker Charlotte Dumas, is interwoven with observations of her daughter Ivy as she grows up. The creative process connects their lives.

C

Cuscú

Cuscú

Risseth Yangüez Singh

Filmmaker Risseth Yangüez Singh explores her family history while helping her grandmother move. Together, they reflect on the history of Panama, the straightening of Afro-textured hair, and the suppression of Black identity.

D

Dreams of the Wild Oaks

Dreams of the Wild Oaks

Marjan Khosravibaledi

Among the snow-covered peaks of southwestern Iran, 13-year-old Samaneh risks being forced into marriage to settle her father’s blood debt. A hunt for seven rare golden-winged partridges may be her last chance at freedom and a future of her own.

E

Every Death Diminishes Me

Every Death Diminishes Me

Sergii Bazhenov

A filmmaker completes medical training to work on the front lines in Ukraine. His diverse group of colleagues patch up the wounded in improvised operating rooms and reflect on war and sacrifice.

H

How Much Longer

How Much Longer

Niels van Koevorden

How do you approach life when death is drawing closer and you don’t know how much time you have left? Five people with incurable cancer speak directly to the camera, sharing their concerns and questions with their oncologist.

L

The Last Season

The Last Season

Rugby is more than a sport for Igoudou and Koumba, two young women from a suburb of Paris. It brought them friendship and made them strong—and not just physically. Yet the time seems to be approaching to say goodbye to their team.

M

Mentor

Mentor

Krzysztof Tomaszewski

A group of teenagers at a Polish boxing gym engage in wild, paranoid speculation about a taciturn migrant. Could he be involved with the mafia? Their conversations reflect how we as a society deal with foreigners, and what we overlook in the process.

The Middle Room

The Middle Room

Mietta, a retired judge in Milan, welcomes her longtime friend Ibu, originally from Senegal, into her home. When Ibu’s pregnant wife later joins them, an unusual and complex living arrangement takes shape.

A Modern Roma Fairytale

A Modern Roma Fairytale

Raluca Lupaşcu

As the granddaughter of a Roma king, ten-year-old Nicoleta seems destined for a fairy-tale life. She will marry young and live in a palace. But looking at her grandmother, mother, and aunt, she also sees a traditional life constrained by patriarchy.

S

The Sacred Circle

The Sacred Circle

Against a backdrop of war and political change in present-day Iran, Atena is trying to set up a club where women can practice the traditional Iranian sport of zurkhaneh—something that is currently forbidden to them.

Scenes from Departure

Scenes from Departure

Ray Kamhei Chan

The bond between a father and son is at the heart of this sensitive exploration of a troubled family history. The son, a filmmaker, visits his father in Hong Kong to lift the lid on a personal tragedy.

She Was Not Alone

She Was Not Alone

Hussein Al-asadi

Four years in the life of Zaira, an elderly woman living in the marshlands of Iraq. Against all odds, she clings to her life close to nature. A poetic and moving testament to resilience and perseverance.

T

Tonight is Forever

Tonight is Forever

How long can love remain an illusion? In Tokyo’s red-light district, host Hikaru makes a fortune selling women romantic fantasies in this film that—like the host—blurs fiction and reality.

U

Up in the Air

Up in the Air

Oksana Koklonska

Nine-year-old Sasha is put through rigorous training in aerial acrobatics at a circus in Ukraine. When the company flees the war and relocates to Budapest, not only are his surroundings changed, but also his motivation to perform.

W

Waves of Time

Waves of Time

Following the final voyage of the enormous, ageing cruise ship Royal Splendor through the Three Gorges on the Yangtze, this experimental film explores the river as a living repository of memory.

We Had a Plan

We Had a Plan

Paul and Dan, a couple who spent ten years working illegally as cleaners in the Netherlands, return to the Philippines as a success story. But before long their plans begin to unravel, and they face a difficult choice. A love story.

Where the Sun is Born

Where the Sun is Born

Laura Bermúdez, Jorge García

Immersive and poetic film in which a dancer from Honduras leaves the city to return to the Afro-Caribbean Garifuna community of his youth, searching for his past, cultural identity, healing rituals, and a sense of connection.