The 46th Atlantic International Film Festival (AIFF) returns to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a lineup showcasing 113 feature and short films at Halifax’s Cineplex Cinemas Park Lane from September 16 to 23, 2026.
Titles include the highly anticipated noir fever dream by Seth Smith, Permanent Damage; the World Premiere of Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones, a portrait of one of Canada’s most inventive comedic families, directed by Justin Simms; and the Cannes’ Palme d’Or winner Fjord, directed by Cristian Mungiu.
“We are thrilled to continue to bring exciting Atlantic and World Cinema to Halifax for our 46th edition of the Atlantic International Film Festival,” says Lisa Haller, Director of Programming at AIFF. “We’ve curated a program that reflects the extraordinary range of contemporary cinema: films that take risks, challenge perspectives, and remind us why the shared experience of watching a great story on the big screen matters.”
The 2026 festival will present four Gala Presentations, including the World Premiere of 111 Echoes From Halifax as the Opening Night Gala. The film tells the true story of the Swissair Flight 111 tragedy and its lasting impact on Nova Scotia. Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty! directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka will close the festival as the Closing Night Gala.
This year’s Atlantic Gala is the Canadian Premiere of The Snake, the debut feature-length film by Prince Edward Island director Jenna MacMillan. Written by and starring Susan Kent, The Snake is a darkly comedic drama about a woman newly evicted and single, wrestling for the life she wants back. Starring alongside Kent are Jonathan Torrens, Robin Duke, Emma Hunter, and Dan Petronijevic.
The Reel East Coast Shorts Gala, spotlighting talent from the Atlantic region will showcase the World Premieres of Billy Gauthier: Carving the Future by Inuk visual artist and performer Jennie Williams (NL), the debut drama Margot by Marthe Bernard (NL), as well as the Atlantic Canadian Premiere of the animation The Flames of Me, created with fire and soot by New Brunswick artist Daniel Léger.
The World Cinema program includes the anticipated feature from Ron Murphy (Trailer Park Boys) starring Christopher Walken, Back in Black; Beth de Araújo’s award-winning Josephine, with heart-wrenching performances by Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan; and Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s visually evocative Soumsoum, The Night of the Stars, set in the Ennedi mountains of northeastern Chad.
This year’s documentaries line-up will include the World Premiere of Captain Newfoundland, an illuminating and wildly entertaining portrait of Newfoundland media mogul Geoff Stirling; celebrated director Mila Aung-Thwin’s The Ultra Runner, a standout examination of an extreme endurance-pushing ultramarathon runner’s journey to escape past demons; and the Sundance Grand Jury Documentary winner To Hold a Mountain, directed by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić, an immersive and lyrical portrait of a shepherd mother and daughter and their grassroots resistance to defend their remote community in the mountains of Montenegro.
Narrative New Waves spotlights debut features from around the world including writer/director Marine Atlan’s stunning debut feature La Gradiva, which follows a class of French high school students on a life-changing excursion to Naples; the Nepali Cannes’ Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner Elephants in the Fog, directed by Abinash Bikram Shah, a standout drama where a matriarch must choose between love and responsibility to her community; and the vibrant, celebratory debut of Academy Award nominee Louise Bagnall in the family-friendly Julián. The program also boasts the World Premiere and directorial debut from Unama’ki (Cape Breton) Indigenous actor Glen Gould, Jeffrey’s Turn, the Canadian Premiere of nuanced independent drama Seahorse, by AIFF alumni director Aisha Evelyna, and the Atlantic Canadian premiere of filmmaker Lindsday Lanzillotta’s Newfoundland-shot coming-of-age tale Purgatory, with J.K. Simmons, Abby Elliott, and John Reynolds.
AIFF’s Late Night Visions program brings weird, wild, and boundary-pushing films to the big screen, including the World Premiere of Stitches, the microbudget body horror anthology from AIFF alumni Taylor Olson, and the horror-comedy Sleep No More by Indonesian auteur Edwin.
Our In Focus program, which celebrates an Atlantic icon or filmmaker with a free screening for the public, will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Newfoundland cult classic The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood, from directors Andy Jones and Michael Jones, with a newly restored print.
Expanding this year to seven (7) programs, the Short Programmes will include 49 short films, with 44% of the program representing Atlantic Canada. The program will open with the World Premiere of Collectors, featuring an incredible ensemble cast including Sarah Gadon, Noah Reid, Don McKellar, and directed by the award-winning Andrew Cividino. The program will also present the World Premieres of Halifax-based animator Joel MacKenzie’s wildly original Baby Daddy; the comedy-thriller Revel, by Mishki Vaccaro, starring Megan Follows and Tommie-Amber Pirie which takes place on the shores of the Bay of Fundy; a powerful and urgent documentary portrait on profound tragedy Eskipesimk, by filmmakers Catherine C. Brown and Jeffrey R. Fish; the North American premiere of Piluk, a breathtaking NFB animation by Elisapie Isaac and Marc Séguin; and a musical short film Kiloran Bay, starring Alan Cumming.
In addition to films, AIFF will present a series of special events and exclusive in-cinema panels and talks for 2026. Celebrating its 29th year, AIFF’s co-production market AIFF Partners returns with a thematic focus on the North. Arctic Lens: A Circumpolar Spotlight will emphasize the distinctive voices and stories emerging from the Circumpolar Region, with a particular emphasis on Indigenous storytelling and the evolving environmental and geopolitical realities shaping the North.
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