The 37th Trieste Film Festival, billed by organizers as Italy’s leading showcase for Central and Eastern European cinema, will run from January 16–24, 2026, with a double opening led by new films from Agnieszka Holland and Kirill Serebrennikov, and a closing-night screening of Ildikó Enyedi’s latest feature.

The festival will open on January 16 with the Italian premiere of Franz, Holland’s biographical drama centered on writer #Franz Kafka#. The film is described as Holland’s most ambitious project to date and is positioned as Poland’s candidate for the 2026 Academy Awards. It traces Kafka’s life from his birth in Prague through to his death in Vienna after World War I.

Continuing the festival’s tradition of a two-part launch, the second opening event will take place on January 20 at with the Italian debut of The Disappearance of Josef Mengele, Serebrennikov’s dramatisation of the postwar flight of the #Auschwitz doctor often referred to as the «Angel of Death,» portrayed by August Diehl. The film premiered at #Cannes and follows Mengele’s movements across South America as he attempts to evade prosecution. Serebrennikov is also scheduled to deliver a masterclass on 21 January, moderated by cinema expert Joël Chapron.

The festival will close on January 24 with Enyedi’s Silent Friend, a multi-era story anchored by a ginkgo tree observing intersecting human lives across the 20th and 21st centuries. Enyedi is expected to meet audiences for a masterclass on the final afternoon.