The annual Prague Film Festival will return to Prague’s Kino Pilotů from April 14 to 19, 2026, with a program combining Czech-premiere feature films, short film competitions and an expanded industry section aimed at both film professionals and general audiences. All screenings will be presented with English subtitles.
The festival’s 2026 edition is organized around the theme “Seeing Beyond the Image,” which organizers say shaped both the film selection and the broader discussion program. Alongside international titles and Czech short films, this year’s lineup also includes masterclasses, panel discussions and the second edition of the Anirama Pitching Forum for student animation projects.
Founded by director Erik Jasaň and producer Hynek Spurný, the festival continues to position itself as a meeting point for emerging talent, working filmmakers, and audiences interested in contemporary cinema. This year’s program places particular emphasis on films dealing with war, identity, family, bodily experience and social responsibility, while also giving space to student work and formally adventurous projects.
Feature premieres and short film competition
The feature film selection includes four titles that have not previously screened in the Czech Republic. Among them is My Father and Qaddafi (pictured at top), directed by Jihan K, which was nominated for the Golden Globes Impact Prize for Documentary at last year’s Venice Film Festival. The documentary follows the daughter of former Libyan diplomat and opponent of Moammar Gadhafi, Mansur Rashid Kikhia, as she investigates the circumstances surrounding her father’s disappearance in Cairo in 1993.
Another title, Clearing, will be accompanied by a Q&A with director Magdalena Ewa Pieta. The film begins with the disappearance of a young mother on the slopes of the sacred mountain Ślęża, leaving behind a stroller with her child.
Also screening is Under the Grey Sky, with actress Aliaksandra Vaitsekhovich expected to attend in person. The drama is inspired by the real-life story of Belarusian journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva, who is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence.
The fourth feature in the lineup is The Man Who Saw the Bear, written, directed by and starring Pierre Richard. The film previously screened as a special presentation at Cannes.
Short films will again form a central part of the festival. More than 40 titles will compete in the Best Czech Short Film and Best Short Film categories. Several arrive in Prague after high-profile festival premieres abroad, including The Spectacle: Our Own Shadow, which premiered in Cannes, and The Magician, which screened in Annecy.
The program also includes the Prague premiere of the Czech short Death Lives (Smrt žije), a Student Academy Awards finalist, and Dog and Wolf, which was recently won Best Short Film at the Czech Lion Awards. Music videos will also be part of the short-form selection, including a new video by the band Berlin Manson. Several filmmakers behind the short films are scheduled to attend screenings and take part in post-screening discussions with audiences.
Industry events, Anirama and festival guests
Beyond the public screening program, Prague Film Festival 2026 will devote significant space to industry activities. One of the headline events is a masterclass on filming in war zones led by Vojtěch Hönig, director of the Czech documentary series Generace Nika. The session will focus on the practical and ethical challenges of documentary filmmaking in areas affected by armed conflict.
A second masterclass will examine The Godfather, with screenwriter Michal Baláž leading a detailed discussion of the film’s narrative structure. The session will focus on how Francis Ford Coppola builds tension and constructs relationships between characters in one of cinema’s best-known crime dramas.
The festival’s industry program will also feature the second edition of the Anirama Pitching Forum, a competitive platform for Czech student animation projects in development. Selected participants will present projects from five institutions: FAMU, UMPRUM, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art, and the University of Creative Communication. The pitching forum will take place in English and will be judged by an international jury with experience in European animation.
Festival awards will be presented during a closing gala on Saturday, April 18. Audience members will determine the winner of the Audience Award, while other categories will be decided by an international jury comprising Slovak screenwriter and educator Michal Baláž, Hungarian filmmaker Dániel Erdélyi and Belarusian director Liza Chakanava, who is based in Prague. The Anirama jury includes German director and animator Arne Hain, Berlin Animation Hub director Maximilian Breckwoldt and Czech producer Rozálie Brožková.
With its mix of premieres, short film competition and professional programming, Prague Film Festival 2026 is set to offer a compact but varied platform for contemporary international and Czech cinema. For more details on this year’s edition, consult the official festival website.
