Directors’ Debuts Competition was initiated in 2010 due to the Festival’s increasing openness to the noteworthy artists and the new film phenomena they create. The selection committee nominates first or second non-documentary feature films made by young directors and cinematographers. The idea of creating additional competition sections was a natural consequence of our previous activities. For years we have been promoting innovative projects that combine intellectual freedom, remarkable insight into world affairs and a desire to inspire other artists of the screen.
Directors’ Debuts Competition brings new discoveries: great movies of high artistic value and great filmmakers whose new ventures surprise not only the Jury members but all audiences around the world as well.
Competition is under the patronage of Polish Filmmakers Association.
ATLANTIC RHAPSODY
ORIGINAL TITLE: Da Xi Yang
DIRECTOR: Kaifeng Zhong
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jiayue Hao
PRODUCTION: Tianxiao Wang, Jane Zheng
COUNTRY AND YEAR: China, 2026
A supermarket clerk accidentally boils the store’s shark alive. That same night, he discovers a missing person notice for his father and hears an otherworldly voice. Soon, strange occurrences begin disrupting his life. Compelled by forces beyond his understanding, Ding returns to his hometown, Shenyang, after 20 years. There, he encounters a series of eccentric figures, and gradually, all the pieces converge, weaving into a symphonic echo of history, memory, fantasy and reality.
THE BLIND GIRL AND AN ELEPHANT
ORIGINAL TITLE: সাঁকোটা দুলছে
DIRECTOR: Ishtiyak Ahmad Zihad
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Samiul Karim Shuptak
PRODUCTION: Manpachitra
COUNTRY AND YEAR: Bangladesh, Germany, 2026
In a pandemic-stricken village, three young girls dream of escaping the fate imposed upon them. Amid violence, forced marriage and public humiliation, their paths gradually diverge. Only Momi, a blind girl, embarks on an inner journey guided by the vision of a mysterious elephant, which becomes a symbol of hope and the possibility of freedom. A contemporary fable about oppression, resilience and the irrepressible desire for liberation.
THE EDUCATION OF JANE CUMMING
DIRECTOR: Sophie Heldman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Kate Reid
PRODUCTION: Heimatfilm
COUNTRY AND YEAR: Germany, Switzerland, UK, 2026
Edinburgh, 1810: Two teachers find themselves at the centre of a scandal when one of their students accuses them of having a love affair. A drama based on true events about prejudice, survival and the courage to stand up for the truth.
A GIRL UNKNOWN
ORIGINAL TITLE: Wu ming nü hai
DIRECTOR: Jing Zou
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Zhongqiang Liang
PRODUCTION: Eagle Media, Emei Film Group, Maneki Films, Memoria Films, Pure Light Films
COUNTRY AND YEAR: China, France, 2026
A Chinese girl is passed between three families from the age of 6 to 18, receiving each time a new name and identity. As she searches for belonging and the possibility of love, she has to navigate between the weight of her past and the uncertainty of her future, until she finds her own way.
THE GOLDEN AGE
ORIGINAL TITLE: L'âge d'or
DIRECTOR: Bérenger Thouin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Martin Roux
PRODUCTION: Gogogo Films
COUNTRY AND YEAR: France, Italy, 2026
Born at the turn of the century in a village butcher’s shop, Jeanne Lavaur dreams of becoming a countess. Inspired by the fearless Céleste and guided by her love for Guillaume de Barante, Jeanne’s journey carries her from the vibrant Paris of the Golden Twenties through the turmoil of two world wars. As her life intertwines with the great upheavals of the 20th century, she rises as a fiercely free woman, determined never to let anyone else define who she is meant to be.
JOSEPHINE
DIRECTOR: Beth de Araújo
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Greta Zozula
PRODUCTION: Sclera
COUNTRY AND YEAR: USA, 2026
After 8-year-old Josephine accidentally witnesses a crime in Golden Gate Park, she acts out in search of a way to regain a sense of safety, while the adults around her are unable to console her.
THE LION AT MY BACK
.jpg&w=3840&q=90)
DIRECTOR: Tonia Mishiali
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Manu Tilinski
PRODUCTION: Bark Like a Cat Films
COUNTRY AND YEAR: Cyprus, Luxembourg, Greece, 2026
Mariama, a teenage Senegalese asylum seeker, and Stella, a Cypriot recovering drug addict, are striving to rebuild their lives. When their paths first cross, they use each other, but their shared struggle for survival in a world that has failed them both sparks an unexpected mother-daughter bond. Together, they redefine the true meaning of love and family in a heartwarming tale of sacrifice, female solidarity and empowerment.
MANHUNT
DIRECTOR: Wayne Wapeemukwa
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jon Glendon
PRODUCTION: Wayne Wapeemukwa
COUNTRY AND YEAR: Canada, 2026
Inspired by true events, two young men go on a road trip to escape their dead-end lives. They drive through empty towns and vast forests as their lives dissolve between digital fantasy and offline reality. Reframing true crime as a parable, Manhunt probes loneliness, masculinity and the colonial dream of beginning anew, until the search for meaning turns into violence. Chasing salvation in the vast northern frontier, two boys discover they can’t outrun what they’ve become.
THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK
DIRECTOR: Noah Segan
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Sam Levy
PRODUCTION: Leopold Hughes, Ben Leclair, Katie Mcneill
COUNTRY AND YEAR: USA, 2026
Harry is an old-school hustler. A classic native New Yorker, he moves through life lubricating palms with cash, relying on his wits and connections. But times are changing for Harry. His daily pickpocket take isn’t green bills and wristwatches, it’s credit cards and mobile phones. And one unfortunate night, cryptocurrency and a handgun. The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is a nostalgic portrait of a small-time career criminal navigating today’s digitally networked world. Writer-director Noah Segan’s modern metropolis is powered by the ephemera of a time gone by, with shoe-leather action brought to radiant life by a terrific cast, led by John Turturro’s exceptional turn as Harry.
RED INK
DIRECTORS: Michael Christensen, Benjamin J Murray
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Benjamin J Murray
PRODUCTION: Incline Studios
COUNTRY AND YEAR: USA, 2026
In the wake of an obscure affliction sweeping the globe, the editor-in-chief of a prestigious New York City newspaper in post-World War II America is tasked with shaping the national response, only to find that shaping the truth may be more monstrous than the threat itself.
TENZING
DIRECTOR: Jennifer Peedom
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stefan Duscio
PRODUCTION: See Saw
COUNTRY AND YEAR: USA, 2026
Based on true events, film chronicles the little-known story of Tenzing Norgay, a gifted Himalayan climber who, alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, became the first to summit Mount Everest. What follows is an ascent defined as much by the tensions between backgrounds, classes and competing ambitions as by the perils of the mountain itself. But high above the world, empire, rank and aspiration fall away, leaving two outsiders bound by mutual respect and trust, and for Tenzing, the fulfilment of both a lifelong dream and a spiritual calling.