The 13th European Film Festival South Africa is bringing a powerful selection of European cinema to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria from 17 to 27 September 2026.
The 12-film programme explores family, identity, loss, resilience and social change, bringing together acclaimed directors, emerging filmmakers and some of Europe’s biggest acting talent.
Among the highlights is the festival opener, The Last Viking, starring Danish heavyweight Mads Mikkelsen in a darkly comic family crime drama about brothers, mental health and long-buried secrets.
Award-winning cinema takes centre stage
The line-up includes My Father’s Shadow from British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr., which recently won the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut. The deeply personal drama explores family, parenthood and survival.
Oscar-winning director Paweł Pawlikowski presents Fatherland, starring Sandra Hüller, while Belgian filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne return with Young Mothers, which won the Cannes Best Screenplay award.
Italian director Paolo Sorrentino reunites with Toni Servillo for La Grazia, an intimate drama exploring fathers, daughters, love and duty.
Other highlights include:
- Colours of Time — a French family drama connecting 19th-century history with the present day.
- Porcelain War — an Oscar-nominated documentary following Ukrainian artists whose lives are transformed by war.
- The Beloved — starring Javier Bardem as a troubled Spanish filmmaker.
- A Family — a Dutch drama examining divorce through the eyes of two siblings.
- Franz — Agnieszka Holland’s biopic of literary icon Franz Kafka.
- Christy — an Irish coming-of-age story about a teenager searching for belonging.
- Aquí — Tiago Guedes’ ambitious adaptation of South African Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee’s Jesus trilogy.
Celebrating European cinema in South Africa
The festival brings together films from 12 European countries, including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
This year’s edition will also pay tribute to Peter Rorvik, a former co-director of the festival who passed away earlier this year. Rorvik was recognised for his decades-long commitment to independent cinema and his contribution to nurturing filmmakers and film audiences in South Africa.
The 13th European Union Film Festival South Africa runs from 17–27 September 2026 in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria.
For the full programme and screening schedule, visit eurofilmfest.co.za.
For South African film lovers, the festival offers 11 days of award-winning European storytelling, powerful performances and stories that cross borders and cultures.
Main Image: Supplied
