The Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival – BIEFF returns between September 23 and 30, 2026, for its 16th edition, bringing eight days of experimental cinema, artist films, moving-image works, talks, special screenings and industry events to venues across Bucharest.
This year’s edition is built around the theme Vanishing Futures, exploring the ways contemporary cinema responds to a world in which the idea of the future feels increasingly uncertain. The programme looks at futures that were promised, denied or never fulfilled, while asking whether cinema can help imagine new collective horizons.
Established by visionary directors Copel Moscu and Adina Pintilie, BIEFF has become a pivotal platform in Romania and beyond for filmmakers pushing the boundaries of cinematic expression.
BIEFF 2026: Vanishing Futures
For its 16th edition, BIEFF focuses on the changing relationship between cinema, memory and the future.
According to Artistic Director Oana Ghera, contemporary moving images increasingly look backwards towards archives, recovered material and nostalgia, at a moment when environmental degradation, war and socio-economic inequality make the future itself feel less stable.
Under the title Vanishing Futures, BIEFF.16 brings together films and artists that examine this uncertainty while looking for new ways of imagining what might come next.
What to Expect at BIEFF 2026
The 2026 programme includes three main competitive sections:
- International Feature Film Competition
- International Short Film Competition
- National Short Film Competition
Alongside the competitions, BIEFF presents several curated focus programmes and special events:
- Pelechian Project
- Rosa Barba: Landscapes of Time
- Neozoon: Algo-Rhythms of the Future
- F-SIDES Wildcards x BIEFF
- Special screenings
- Educational screenings
- Talks, panels and masterclasses
- Industry events
The international feature competition includes films previously presented at festivals such as Berlinale, Venice, Locarno and Rotterdam, continuing BIEFF’s role as one of Bucharest’s main platforms for experimental and artist-driven cinema.
Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival 2026 Programme
Wednesday, September 23
19:00 – BIEFF.16 Opening Event – Focus: Pelechian Project
Cinema Elvire Popesco
The 16th edition officially opens with a programme dedicated to the Pelechian Project, bringing audiences into the distinctive cinematic universe associated with filmmaker Artavazd Pelechian.
Thursday, September 24
18:00 – International Feature Film Competition 1: At Night
Apollo 111 Cinema
18:00 – Special Screening: A Summer of Nothing
Cinema Elvire Popesco
20:30 – International Short Film Competition 1: A Chorus of Vanishing Voices
Apollo 111 Cinema
20:30 – International Feature Film Competition 2: Memory
Cinema Elvire Popesco
Friday, September 25
17:00 – Panel: Peripheral Futures – Women Directors On Their Debut
Institut Français – Atrium
Free admission
18:00 – International Feature Film Competition 3: Forest High
Cinema Elvire Popesco
18:00 – BIEFF.16 Focus: Rosa Barba – Landscapes of Time Part 1: Unstable Realities
Apollo 111 Cinema
18:30 – F-SIDES Wildcards x BIEFF – Pixeltopia
Cinema Union
20:00 – International Short Film Competition 2: Grand Detour
Apollo 111 Cinema
20:30 – International Feature Film Competition 4: Chronovisor
Cinema Elvire Popesco
Saturday, September 26
14:00 – Panel: Inside Film Festivals – A Programmers’ Perspective
Random House
Free admission
17:00 – Special Screening: Ten Skies & Masterclass with Erika Balsom
Apollo 111 Cinema
18:00 – International Short Film Competition 3: History.Final.Final
Cinema Elvire Popesco
20:00 – F-SIDES Wildcards x BIEFF – Wrecking Balls and Glitter Bombs
Cinema Union
20:00 – International Short Film Competition 4: Conspiracies of Theory
Apollo 111 Cinema
20:30 – National Short Film Competition 1
Cinema Elvire Popesco
Sunday, September 27
15:00 – Animated Short Films for Children: Unexpected Friends
Cinema Elvire Popesco
16:00 – BIEFF.16 Focus: Rosa Barba – Landscapes of Time Part 2: Traces of Place
Apollo 111 Cinema
17:00 – BIEFF.16 Focus: Neozoon – Algo-Rhythms of the Future
Cinema Union
Short films followed by a talk
18:00 – International Feature Film Competition 5: Hanabi / Fire Flower
Cinema Elvire Popesco
18:00 – International Short Film Competition 5: For Lack of Better Words
Apollo 111 Cinema
19:00 – COVOR, PLANTE, POEZIE x BIEFF: Cities of Absence
National Museum of Romanian Literature
Free admission
20:30 – International Short Film Competition 6: An Image Looking Back at Us
Apollo 111 Cinema
20:30 – National Short Film Competition 2
Cinema Elvire Popesco
Monday, September 28
BIEFF.16 Awards Gala
19:00 – BIEFF.16 Awards Gala & Special Screening: Thirteen Lakes
Cinema Elvire Popesco
The festival announces the winners of its competitive sections before a special screening of Thirteen Lakes.
The BIEFF.16 awards include prizes for Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Visual Concept, Best Sound Concept and Best Romanian Film, alongside additional post-production awards.
Tuesday, September 29
18:00 – National Short Film Competition 1 – Repeat Screening
Cinema Union
18:00 – BIEFF.16 Award-Winning Short Films
Cinema Elvire Popesco
19:30 – A WALL IS A SCREEN x BIEFF: Walking Cinema Event
Starting point: Apollo 111 Cinema
Free admission
20:30 – BIEFF.16 Award-Winning Feature Film
Cinema Elvire Popesco
Wednesday, September 30
18:00 – National Short Film Competition 2 – Repeat Screening
Cinema Union
BIEFF.16 Closing Event
20:00 – Special Screening: Double Freedom
Cinema Elvire Popesco
The closing screening officially brings the 16th edition of the Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival to an end.
International Competitions at BIEFF 2026
The International Feature Film Competition once again presents films that challenge conventional cinematic language and move between fiction, documentary, essay film and visual art.
The International Short Film Competition is divided into six curated programmes, each built around different thematic and aesthetic connections between the selected works.
Romanian filmmakers are represented in the National Short Film Competition, which gives emerging and established local artists a dedicated platform within the festival.
Focus: Rosa Barba – Landscapes of Time
One of BIEFF.16’s major artist-focused programmes is dedicated to Rosa Barba, whose work explores cinema, landscape, materiality and the relationship between moving images and physical space.
The programme is divided into two parts:
September 25 – Unstable Realities
Apollo 111 Cinema
September 27 – Traces of Place
Apollo 111 Cinema
Focus: Neozoon – Algo-Rhythms of the Future
The German-French artist duo Neozoon is featured in another major BIEFF.16 focus.
Their work frequently examines online culture, algorithms, consumer behaviour and the enormous archives of images generated and circulated through digital platforms.
The programme takes place on Sunday, September 27, at Cinema Union, combining short films with a talk.
BIEFF 2026 Tickets
Tickets for BIEFF.16 vary depending on the venue.
Cinema Union: RON 15
Cinema Elvire Popesco & Apollo 111 Cinema: RON 30
Several festival passes are also available:
Standard Pass: RON 200
Solidarity Pass: RON 250
Experimental Extravaganzza Pass: RON 400
The Inclusive Pass, priced at RON 60, is currently listed as sold out.
Tickets and passes are available online through Eventbook. Some panels and special events have free admission, with prior registration required where indicated by the organisers.
BIEFF 2026 Locations
BIEFF takes place across several cinemas and cultural spaces in central Bucharest.
Cinema Elvire Popesco
77 Dacia Boulevard
Apollo 111 Cinema
23–25 Ion Brezoianu Street
Cinema Union
21 Ion Câmpineanu Street
Other BIEFF.16 events take place at the National Museum of Romanian Literature, Random House, Institut Français and other cultural spaces in Bucharest.
Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival 2026 at a Glance
Event: Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival – BIEFF
Edition: 16th edition
Theme: Vanishing Futures
Dates: September 23–30, 2026
Location: Multiple venues across Bucharest
Main venues: Cinema Elvire Popesco, Apollo 111 Cinema and Cinema Union
Programme: Feature films, short films, experimental cinema, special screenings, artist focuses, talks, panels and masterclasses
Tickets: From RON 15
BIEFF remains one of Bucharest’s most distinctive film events, offering audiences a chance to discover cinema outside conventional formats. For eight days, the festival brings together filmmakers, artists, curators and audiences around works that question how images are made, remembered and used to imagine the future.
