‘La Bola Negra,’ ‘Fjord,’ ‘Wild Horse Nine’ and More Set for 35th Philadelphia Film Festival

2026/09/30

Categories: entertainment

“La Bola Negra,” “Fjord” and “Wild Horse Nine” were among the films announced in the first wave of programming for the Philadelphia Film Festival, which runs Oct. 15-25.

The films join a lineup that also features “Ink,” Sundance Grand Jury winner “Josephine,” “Elsinore” starring Andrew Scott and “Behemoth!,” directed by Tony Gilroy.

The 35th edition of the festival will also host the world premieres of “Big Phan,” “Gentle by Birth,” “I Don’t Want to Drink Your Blood Anymore” and “Joy Will Prevail” in its Filmadelphia section.

The festival’s documentary lineup includes “Naza,” “Jean-Michel Basquiat,” “When a Witness Recants,” “Seized,” “The Match,” “The Last Critic” and “The Oldest Person in the World.”

“This year’s films bring together extraordinary filmmakers from around the world, from new films from modern masters to major discoveries from debuting filmmakers and everything in between,” said J. Andrew Greenblatt, CEO and executive director of the Philadelphia Film Society. “We’re thrilled to feature some of the most celebrated and highly anticipated titles from the international festival circuit alongside work created right here in Philadelphia. It’s exactly the kind of breadth and ambition we want this milestone Festival to represent.”

The full PFF35 lineup will be announced Oct. 7. Read the films announced in the first wave of programming below.

“All of a Sudden” dir. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
“Arrested Memory” dir. SABU
“Behemoth!” dir. Tony Gilroy
“Being Heumann” dir. Siân Heder
“Ben’imana” dir. Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo
“Big Phan” dir. Hoag Kepner — World Premiere
“Bitter Christmas” dir. Pedro Almodóvar
“Brian” dir. Will Ropp
“Bunker” dir. Florian Zeller
“The Burning Giants” dir. Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
“Clarissa” dir. Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri
“Congo Boy” dir. Rafiki Fariala
“Coward” dir. Lukas Dhont
“The Diary of a Chambermaid” dir. Radu Jude
“The Dreamed Adventure” dir. Valeska Grisebach
“Elephants in the Fog” dir. Abinash Bikram Shah
“Elsinore” dir. Simon Stone
“Everytime” dir. Sandra Wollner
“Fatherland” dir. Paweł Pawlikowski
“Fjord” dir. Cristian Mungiu
“Gentle By Birth” dir. Doree Simon Hatfield — World Premiere
“Half” dir. Samjad
“I Don’t Want to Drink Your Blood Anymore” dir. Andrew Sullivan — World Premiere
“I’ll Be Gone in June” dir. Katharina Rivilis
“Ink” dir. Danny Boyle
“Jean-Michel Basquiat” dir. Quinn Whitney Wilson, Viridiana Lieberman
“Josephine” dir. Beth de Araújo
“Joy Will Prevail” dir. Max Korman — World Premiere
“La Bola Negra” dir. Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi
“La Gradiva” dir. Marine Atlan
“The Last Critic” dir. Matty Wishnow
“A Long Winter” dir. Andrew Haigh
“Look Back” dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
“The Match” dir. Juan Cabral, Santiago Franco
“Minotaur” dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev
“My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow” dir. Julia Loktev
“My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile” dir. Julia Loktev
“Naza” dir. Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
“Never After Dark” dir. Dave Boyle
“The Oldest Person in the World” dir. Sam Green
“Once Upon a Time in Harlem” dir. David Greaves, William Greaves
“Possible Love” dir. Lee Chang-dong
“Seized” dir. Sharon Liese
“Tender Loving Care” dir. Mike Leigh
“Too Many Beasts” dir. Sarah Arnold
“Ugly Cry” dir. Emily Robinson
“When a Witness Recants” dir. Dawn Porter
“Written on the Wind” dir. Douglas Sirk
“Wild Horse Nine” dir. Martin McDonagh
“Yellow Letters” dir. İlker Çatak

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