BAFF- Brussels Art Film Festival

BAFF 2026: 25 Years of Cinema, Art and Creativity

From 10 to 15 November 2026, the Brussels Art Film Festival (BAFF) celebrates its 25th edition in Brussels, Antwerp and Mons. The only festival in Belgium dedicated to documentaries about art and artistic creation, the BAFF invites audiences to explore the connections between cinema, music, dance, literature, poetry and the visual arts over six days.

The programme features 38 films, including 13 Belgian films in competition and around 20 Belgian premieres, offering the chance to discover remarkable artists, works and creative worlds. From Marina Abramović to Germaine Acogny, from William S. Burroughs to Barbara Hammer, the festival brings artistic practices, eras and perspectives into dialogue.

For this anniversary edition, collage takes centre stage as its guiding theme: fragments of images, stories and memories come together, intersect and open up new perspectives. This approach runs throughout the programme, from the National Competition to the International Panorama, including screenings that resonate with exhibitions currently on view at Bozar, WIELS and ISELP.

The National Competition brings together 13 films — six feature-length films and seven short films — competing for four awards, including the Art Film Award, exceptionally increased to €2,500 for this anniversary edition. The selected works include Nostalgia for the Future by Brecht Debackere, a tribute to Chris Marker that premiered at Cannes, Donn, le danseur du XXe siècle by Mariano Baez and Florencia Dávila, and Ceci n’est pas un film français by Tom Adjibi.

This year, the festival is strengthening its ties with its sister festival, the BAFF – Beirut Art Film Festival, through News from Lebanon, a programme dedicated to Lebanese cinema. Featuring films from both the past and the present, including two rare works by filmmaker Maroun Baghdadi, who died in 1993, the selection invites audiences to discover different stories and perspectives on Lebanon. This dialogue will continue in December with CINEMAMED.

The festival opens at Palace with Days of Wonder by Karin Pennanen, a film devoted to Finnish artist Markku Pennanen. The closing film will be Souraya, mon amour by Nicolas Khoury, a portrait of actress and dancer Souraya Baghdadi, who will be present for the screening.

Six days of cinema to discover art from a different perspective, meet artists and bring images, ideas and imaginations into circulation.

Full programme and information: www.baffestival.be