Biarritz Film Festival – Nouvelles Vagues returns from June 23 to 28, 2026, with a fourth edition built around youth, emerging voices and new ways of looking at cinema. Still a young festival, Biarritz is now turning that identity into something more structured: a discovery platform with a growing industry dimension.
At the centre of the 2026 edition is an international feature competition made up of eight films not yet theatrically released in France. This year’s selection includes Animol by Ashley Walters, Big Girls Don’t Cry by Paloma Schneideman, Congo Boy by Rafiki Fariala, La Chaleur by Stéphane Demoustier, La Gradiva by Marine Atlan, Les Fraises La Más Dulce by Laïla Marrakchi, No Good Men by Shahrbanoo Sadat and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma by Jane Schoenbrun.
Several titles will arrive in Biarritz with filmmakers, producers and distributors in attendance, underlining the festival’s role as a meeting point as well as a showcase. La Chaleur will be presented as a world premiere in the presence of director Stéphane Demoustier and producers Jean Des Forêts, Matthias Erny and Christof Neracher. La Gradiva will be represented by director Marine Atlan, actress Antonia Buresi and distributor Auguste Calvet, while Les Fraises La Más Dulce will be presented with director Laïla Marrakchi and producer Juliette Schrameck. Congo Boy is also expected with director Rafiki Fariala and producer Caroline Nataf.
Talent discovery also runs through Les Nouvelles Vagues du Monde, a new section conceived as a laboratory for emerging international perspectives. It brings together young filmmakers already noticed at major festivals, including Mees Peijnenburg with A Family, Sophy Romvari with Blue Heron, Yoo Jaein with En Route To, Nastia Korkia with Short Summer and Jaume Claret Muxart with Strange River.
From Talent Discovery to Industry Dialogue
Industry conversations are becoming a more visible part of the festival’s profile. On June 25, Nouvelles Vagues: Cinema & AI will bring together creators, professionals, students, technology players, producers, studios and legal experts to discuss how artificial intelligence is affecting creation, production, film professions, sound, intellectual property and business models. One day later, Nouvelles Vagues: Cinema & Ocean will connect cinema with environmental issues, exploration, surf culture and ocean preservation, using Biarritz’s coastal identity as part of the festival’s editorial frame.
Development support adds another layer to that professional ambition. The Nouvelles Vagues – Fondation Barrière Grant backs first live-action fiction features with majority French production and stories connected to the concerns of new generations. Four projects have been selected for 2026, with one project set to receive €10,000.
Taken together, the 2026 edition shows a festival looking beyond the traditional showcase model. Biarritz Nouvelles Vagues is using youth cinema as its main entry point, but its broader strategy is becoming increasingly industry-facing: discovering films, connecting talent, opening professional conversations and supporting projects before they reach production.
