The thirty fourth Raindance Film Festival has unveiled its full program, with 85 narrative and documentary options, 112 quick movies and 27 immersive initiatives set for the June 17–26 run in London. Forty-eight of the options – 56% of the overall – come from first-time administrators, and a brand new greatest horror characteristic prize has been added to the jury competitors for 2026.
The complete characteristic slate spans materials on matters together with the Southport riots, fracking in West Texas, the Rohingya refugee disaster, bride slavery in India, synthetic intelligence and the deforestation of Canada’s Boreal Forest. Worldwide competitors titles embrace the world premieres of Mexican coming-of-age thriller “Jardines Del Bosque,” Iranian pandemic drama “No Lastname” and debut Estonian characteristic “Fränk,” from Tönis Capsule, assistant director on Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” alongside U.Ok. premieres of Venice-awarded “Lost Land” and Indian narrative characteristic “Paro: The Untold Story of Bride Slavery,” produced by two-time Oscar-listed producer Trupti Bhoir.
Documentary competitors highlights embrace “Gaslit,” government produced by Jane Fonda, which follows the activist throughout oil fields in West Texas and Louisiana; “Ghost in the Machine,” which premiered at Sundance and examines the origins of synthetic intelligence; and “Copeland,” a world premiere portrait of Stewart Copeland, drummer of English rock band The Police.
The horror sidebar, newly eligible for its personal jury prize, consists of “Corporate Retreat,” starring Odeya Rush, Sasha Lane, Alan Ruck, Ashton Sanders and Rosanna Arquette; Robert Englund-led Pinocchio reimagining “Pinocchio: Unstrung”; Māori-inflected supernatural chiller “Broken Beak,” a global premiere from New Zealand; and slasher-comedy “Friday the 69th.”
The pageant’s Oscar-qualifying quick movie program options the directorial debut of actor Equipment Harington, the black comedy “Psychopomp,” starring Harry Melling; “Joke,” a tribute to late British comedy author Barry Cryer that includes Judi Dench, Stephen Fry, Alison Steadman and Harry Hill; and BAFTA-winning comic Joe Lycett’s “Dating Mark Silcox.” Among the many worldwide quick titles, “Pankaja” and “Stairs” each carry Sundance nominations, whereas Palestinian documentary “Free Fish,” filmed in Gaza, closes the strand.
This 12 months’s jury consists of actors Jacob Anderson (“Interview with the Vampire,” “Game of Thrones”), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“Match Point”), Aimee-Ffion Edwards (“Slow Horses”), Sope Dirisu (“Gangs of London”), Charlotte Hope (“The Spanish Princess”) and David Ajala (“The Woman in Cabin 10”), alongside Fiona Lamptey, a producer and former head of U.Ok. options at Netflix.
Canon Europe returns as predominant sponsor. The Canon Lounge at One Ninetyfour on Piccadilly will function the trade hub, internet hosting a cinematography masterclass and an AI-assisted quick movie screening in partnership with CapCut. The eleventh Raindance Immersive presents 27 XR initiatives on-line in VRChat from June 12 by means of June 25, with an in-person showcase on the Canon Lounge from June 23–25.
As beforehand introduced, the pageant will open with the U.Ok. premiere of Michel Ok. Parandi’s sci-fi thriller “April X,” starring Connor Storrie (“Heated Rivalry”) and shut with the European premiere of Kirsty Bell’s documentary “Eddie Cochran: Don’t Forget Me.”
“Some films can’t wait,” Raindance founder Elliot Grove stated, “and we at Raindance can’t wait to share this year’s selection of must-see indie films. With the return of our main sponsor Canon Europe, Raindance has an even greater capacity to champion emerging filmmakers along with under-the-radar films that other festivals may overlook. So don’t wait on the sidelines, come join our celebration of indie cinema in the heart of London.”
