Ten contemporary films from 10 countries will be screened at Spazju Kreattiv, alongside three Q&A sessions.
The EUNIC European Film Festival returns to Valletta this September, bringing together 10 contemporary films from 10 countries in a six-day programme at Spazju Kreattiv. The event is organised by the Malta Cluster of EUNIC, the network of European Union National Institutes for Culture, of which Arts Council Malta is a member.
Once again this year, the festival is set to present a cross-section of contemporary European cinema, with participating embassies, cultural institutes and partner organisations each contributing to the programme. Screenings will take place from Tuesday 15 to Sunday 20 September, with the programme spanning drama, comedy and documentary. The screenings of Wishbone, The Altar Boys, and Ciao Ciao will be followed by Q&A sessions.
Dr Luke Dalli, Executive Chair of Arts Council Malta said “The European Film Festival is a wonderful example of cultural exchange in action. Internationalisation is not simply about taking Maltese artists and Maltese culture abroad; it is also about bringing cultures together here in Malta and giving our audiences the opportunity to encounter work, stories and perspectives from other countries. Film is particularly powerful in making these connections, allowing us, even for the space of a screening, to enter somebody else’s world, hear another language, experience another culture and see things from a different perspective. Initiatives such as this festival create exactly these opportunities for discovery and connection, and are an important part of how we build stronger cultural relationships across Europe.”
EUNIC is a European network of national-level organisations engaged in international cultural cooperation and, together with its partners, is present in more than 100 countries through a network of around 140 clusters. The festival has been held in Malta since 2021, with the first EUNIC Malta Film Festival held at Spazju Kreattiv later that year.
This year’s edition will once again be organised by the Malta Cluster of EUNIC, whose members include Arts Council Malta and the Embassies of Spain, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland, together with the Alliance Française de Malte-Méditerranée, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura and the Representation of the European Commission in Malta.
The Programme
The 2026 programme opens on Tuesday 15 September with the Greek drama Wishbone. The film follows a hospital security guard who finds himself drawn into a medical scam. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s director.
On Wednesday 16 September, audiences can see two films, both followed by discussions with members of their respective teams. Poland’s The Altar Boys (Ministranci) centres on a group of altar servers who decide to take justice into their own hands. It is followed later that evening by the Maltese feature Ciao Ciao, which brings together four couples over the course of one chaotic night. A Q&A with the cast and screenwriters will follow the Maltese screening.
The programme continues on Thursday 17 September with two very different stories. Italy’s Duse turns its attention to celebrated actress Eleonora Duse and her return to the stage as fascism rises, while the French film The Fourth Wall (Le Quatrième mur), adapted by David Oelhoffen from Sorj Chalandon’s novel, follows an attempt to stage Antigone in wartime Beirut.
Germany takes the screen on Friday 18 September with 22 Lengths (22 Bahnen), followed by Mr Nobody Against Putin, presented by the European Commission Representation in Malta. The Oscar and BAFTA-winning 2025 documentary by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin follows a Russian teacher who secretly documents the transformation of his small-town school into a war recruitment centre during the invasion of Ukraine.
On Saturday 19 September, the festival presents the Hungarian film Brazilians (Brazilok).
The final day, Sunday 20 September, features two screenings: the Dutch film Our Girls (Voor de Meisjes) and Spain’s House on Fire (Casa en llamas), which closes this year’s festival.
All films will be screened in their original language with English subtitles.
Tickets to all festival screenings are free of charge, but members of the public are required to register in advance through the Spazju Kreattiv website : https://spazjukreattiv.org/event/the-european-film-festival-2026/
For full details about the programme visit https://artscouncilmalta.gov.mt.
