FilmEU Film Festival 2026 23–25 June 2026
Hosted by LUCA School of Arts at its Brussels campuses and Cinema Nova.
The FilmEU Film Festival 2026 (FFF) brings together the freshest and most exciting student films from across Europe. Over three evenings, audiences can discover a curated selection of fiction, documentary, animation, dance and experimental films created by emerging filmmakers from the FilmEU Alliance and partner institutions.
Building on the successful first edition in Sofia in June 2025, this second FilmEU Film Festival showcases audiovisual works from all 8 FilmEU partner institutions, including students from the alliance's Joint Master's programmes. The festival is organised in collaboration with partner institutions in Ukraine and Armenia: SUMDU, I.K. Karpenko-Kary University, SAFAA and YSITC.
The festival forms part of the FilmEU Summit 2026, hosted that week by LUCA School of Arts in Brussels.
Registration:
Admission is free, but pre-registration is required.
Awards:
The festival jury will present:
- Best Film Award;
- Special Mentions;
- Audience Award.
Festival schedule & venues
Day 1 – Tuesday 23 June 2026 | 18:00–20:45 | Location 
Location: LUCA Brussels / Sint-Lukas (Paleizenstraat 70, 1030 Brussels) - 'Auditorium' – Room C-3.15
Day 2 – Wednesday 24 June 2026 | 19:00–21:15 | Location
Location: Cinema Nova (Rue d'Arenberg 3, 1000 Brussels)
Day 3 – Thursday 25 June 2026 | 18:00–20:45 | Location
Location: LUCA Brussels / Narafi (Av. Victor Rousseau 75, 1190 Forest)
Screening catalogue:
Day 1 – Crossroads of identity and belonging
Chop Chop!by Levgen Koshyn - Joint MA - Kino Eyes ( Fiction – 12 min 42)
A Scottish-Pakistani dad’s life spirals into chaos as he battles his orthodox father’s ultimatum to circumcise the grandson.
Auntie Vaska by Mihaila Bozhidarova Zarkova - NATFA, Bulgaria ( Documentary – 24 min 19)
The documentary about Vaska Emanuilova seeks answers to questions that have arisen about her art, personality and attitude towards people. Her relatives will tell about her personality and the facts that people are afraid to talk about. The film searches for a connection between the past and the present, following the gaze of a girl who leads us through the places Aunt Vaska has touched.
Feast by Rebeka Vakrčková - VŠMU, Slovakia (Animation - 4 min 24)
A story about courage and the willingness to fight in difficult times.
In Loving Memory of Fleeting Light by Laura Van den Eede - LUCA, Belgium (Documentary – 15 min 24)
“In Loving Memory of Fleeting Light” is a hybrid documentary that follows a mother and daughter on a journey to find memories of fireflies that were once abundant in rural areas of Northern Italy. The ecological loss of these creatures makes them reflect upon other types of mourning: within the family and the village at large.
Glitter Kiss by Augustė Gerikaitė - LMTA, Lithuania (Fiction 19 min)
After discovering a brutally beaten drag queen, Klaudijus, in his apartment building, homophobe Rolandas reluctantly takes him to the hospital and becomes his first responder. As the police investigate and Klaudijus’ life hangs in the balance, Rolandas is forced to rethink his beliefs.
need to feel your LOVE by Ciara Schaefer - IADT, Ireland (Dance Film – 4 min 32)
Melissa’s doubts about her boyfriend Jack intensify as she discovers a lipstick message on the bathroom mirror, inciting a heart-pounding journey full of dance with her bestie Beatrix.
Prayer by Sofia Geweiler - Joint MA - Kino Eyes (Fiction – 14 min)
In a techno club in Lisbon, immigrant worker Abdul is on a video call with his wife, Aliyah, who is going into labor and begs him to be present, at least over the phone. At the same time, his colleague Maria desperately needs his help. Caught between work’s demands and his son’s birth, Abdul grapples with the fear of losing his job and the challenge of becoming a father from afar. On top of all that, he fights with his strict father-in-law for his right to perform the sacred tradition of reciting the Adhan for his newborn son.
MODUS by Carl Johan Holmboe Dahl – VIA, Denmark (Fiction -12 min 11)
A dark comedy about Esben, who seeks out strangers' homes in search of something he’s lost. When he meets Helge, a peculiar bond forms - quietly uncovering the fragility we all carry.
Day 2 – Quiet tensions, sudden shifts
Marelle by Kristjan Poom – TLU, Estonia (Fiction – 18 min 23)
Markus lives in the comfort of his idyllic bourgeois life with his wife and six-year-old daughter. When new neighbours move into the house next door, everything seems ordinary at first but the situation takes a toll when the neighbours adopt a miniature pig and give it the same name as Markus’s daughter—Marelle. Markus gives his all to find a solution to this offensive predicament, even when rational options are running out.
Everyone Always Experiences Everything Equally by Sinned Raun – VIA, Denmark (Fiction, Experimental – 09 min 58)
The film 'everyone always experiences everything the same' is a poetic portrayal of a lingering fantasy about the universal experience of being human across all ages. We follow the character Alice, who takes us on a journey through an eccentric landscape into history and back out to reality. The film explores transience through gently interwoven 8mm film footage, digital footage, and archive footage from, among others, DFI.
White Veil by Žiga Ciber – IADT, Ireland (Documentary – 9 min 53)
Nestled by the banks of the Soča River, the village of Anhovo carries a legacy buried beneath layers of history and dust. More than 100 years ago, an asbestos cement factory was built. Through shifting wars, regimes, and borders from fascism, socialism, and capitalism. From Italy, Yugoslavia, to Slovenia, the factory endured. It gave people jobs, homes and hope. But soon, it began to take their breath, their health, and eventually, their lives. Today, it is still belching smoke, as time stands still under the White Veil. The film gives voice to those silenced by progress and asks what remains when the skies clear.
NEVERMIND by Lieze-Lotte Jacobs – LUCA, Belgium (Fiction – 15 min 18)
When Isa realises her mental health issues are getting worse, she seeks help. She quickly realises this isn't easy and will take far too long. When she talks to those around her, she doesn't get the response she's hoping for. NEVERMIND is my fictional graduation film and addresses waiting times in mental health care, a socially relevant issue. Both as a filmmaker and a young adult, I feel compelled to address this topic.
HOT FLUSH by Hana Hancinova – VŠMU, Slovakia (Fiction – 26 min 50)
Elena, a 50-year-old social curator, is prompted by a borderline sexual encounter initiated by a teenager she mentors into an existential crisis - will she pretend nothing happened, or will she finally face the world on her own terms?
Lange Wapper by Roel Soetewey – LUCA, Belgium (Animation – 5 min 59)
“Lange Wapper” is a six-minute animated short based on the old Antwerp legend. The film reimagines the iconic trickster figure to tell a new story, exploring how folklore evolves and remains relevant today, through a stylised 3D animation.
The Land of Sun by Ruby Ardash Mardirossian – YSITC, Armenia (Documentary – 11 min 22)
Even though Shamshadin means "The land of Sun", fog consistently visits this small region on the border of Armenia, and yet its villagers continue to be as solid as its mountains and as bright as its sun.
Bursting at the Seams by Adriana Andrade, Luana Rodrigues, Daniela Tietzen – LU, Portugal (Documentary, Animation – 3 min 42)
Narrations of 3 women about their experiences, their inner fight with being feminine and masculine, and their accepting journeys. A movie about girlhood and accepting ourselves as women.
Time Flies by Tommaso Zerbi – Joint MA RE:Anima (Animation – 4 min 36)
A snail is crushed by a car, a dog defecates while a tourist jumps from the tallest skyscraper in the world. A series of slices of everyday life spirals into chaos.
Day 3 – Fractured realities
LŪGNĖ by Tomas Bardauskas – LMTA, Lithuania (Fiction – 16 min 43)
A teenage girl’s reality begins to shatter after her younger sister disappears, and a long-forgotten truth begins to reveal itself.
How to Listen to Fountains by Eva Sajanová – VŠMU, Slovakia (Documentary, Experimental – 10 min 07)
This film is about public space. This film is about the destruction of culture. This film is about fountains that have had enough. What would happen if fountains could speak?
Still Life by Lara Jaydha – Joint MA RE:Anima (Animation – 5 min 35)
On a split screen, two parallel and contrasting narratives unfold. The world of art and the realm of the everyday are integrally connected and yet hugely disparate. A pair of hands working relentlessly inside a home fades away, while a painting hanging quietly in a museum gains fame.
Marie by Andrii Storchak – IKK, Ukraine (Fiction – 10 min 43)
A young man tries to live his youth undisturbed and escape from the devastating reality of interwar Kyiv. Will a dreamy girl affect his escapist lifestyle?
Where Things Stand by Valdemar Hauritz, Cecillia Frisk – VIA, Denmark (Fiction – 8 min 45)
An elderly, lonely man unexpectedly connects with his new neighbour when his sofa appears in the field outside his house one morning. To recreate this encounter, he begins moving the sofa outside every night, using it as an excuse to seek him out. When the truth is revealed, a major conflict arises between them.
In Between by Berit De Sutter – LUCA, Belgium (Fiction – 19 min 50)
After a near-fatal incident during her artistic swimming training, Ro loses trust in the water that once felt like a second home. Together with Billie, a quiet lifeguard and pool attendant, she searches for her lost love of being underwater. Billie spends her days on the bottom of the pool, watching how the dancing bodies above her merge with the water. Between them, a gentle ritual grows: whenever Ro holds her breath, Billie softly counts for her.
Merry Crisis by Kristine Bidstrup – VIA, Denmark (Fiction – 7 min 24)
In the short film "Merry Crisis", we follow Katarina, a young Russian-Danish woman trying to adapt to life at a Danish dormitory and the traditional Danish Christmas. Together with her neighbours in the dorm hallway, she prepares a festive dinner, but a casual comment slowly reveals her Russian background—and suddenly, the atmosphere shifts. As the Christmas dinner burns and old secrets come to light, Katarina is confronted with prejudices, unexpected reactions from those closest to her, and her own inner conflicts. "Merry Crisis" is a touching and dramatic story about belonging, identity, and the cultural tensions simmering beneath the surface—even during what is supposed to be the cosiest time of the year.
Life Within by Anna Mkrtumyan – LUCA, Belgium (Documentary – 15 min 47)
During the nine-month blockade imposed by Azerbaijan on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the number of miscarriages and stillbirths increased fourfold. This experimental documentary follows the voice of a mother whose pregnancy unfolded entirely within this siege. As her pregnancy progressed, the blockade steadily worsened, bringing scarcity, uncertainty, and the quiet fear of each passing day.