Subject: Still so much to see at CFF45! Final weekend highlights

CAMBRIDGE

FILM FESTIVAL 2026

22 October to 1 November

The Blood Countess

SO MUCH STILL TO SEE AT CFF45!

As we head towards the final weekend of the 45th Cambridge Film Festival, there's still an incredible selection of films to discover!

On Friday, Jesse Eisenberg returns to the director's chair with THE DEBUT, starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti in a darkly compelling story about a housewife drawn into the world of community theatre.

Then on Saturday, the legendary Isabelle Huppert takes centre stage in THE BLOOD COUNTESS, a wonderfully eccentric vampire comedy from Ulrike Ottinger, just in time for Halloween.

And there's a spectacular finale in store on Sunday, as Martin McDonagh closes CFF45 with WILD HORSE NINE, starring John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi.

But the big names are only part of the story. A fantastic range of international cinema, bold new filmmakers, and short films still awaits discovery.

Below, we're highlighting three very different films screening on Friday, each offering something special.

EXPLORE THE FULL PROGRAMME & BOOK TICKETS

two girls looking through cracks in a pot

Fri

Oct

18:45

Sun

Nov

13:30

UK PREMIERE

SAD GIRLZ

Certificate CFF-15. France, Spain, Mexico, 90 minutes.

Two teenage swimmers, Paula and La Maestra, are fierce competitors in the pool and inseparable friends outside it. But when Paula is sexually assaulted at a party, La Maestra decides to take matters into her own hands, setting off a chain of events neither of them can control.

SAD GIRLZ is the debut feature from Mexican filmmaker Fernanda Tovar, an uncompromising story of friendship, anger and the complicated choices young people make when faced with something devastating.

Winner of the Generation 14+ Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, the film takes its teenage characters and their experiences seriously, exploring the fierce loyalties and difficult realities of adolescence.

Screening as a UK Premiere and part of our Belongings strand, SAD GIRLZ is an exciting introduction to a new voice in Mexican cinema.

Tickets Available

two worried looking med driving a car with a cracked windscreen

Fri

Oct

16:40

Sun

Nov

21:00

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE

HARSH LAND, DISTANT SKY

Certificate CFF-15. Iraq, 102 minutes.

What happens when the fighting ends, but the war never really leaves you?

In HARSH LAND, DISTANT SKY, Harun is a veteran of the Kurdish Civil War, carrying the trauma of conflict and a burden of guilt he can no longer keep to himself.

Searching for a way to confront his past and confess his darkest secrets, he sets out to find a traditional Kurdish tattooist in a remote village near the borders of Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

Kurdish director and author Hawraz Mohammed's debut feature tells a deeply personal story about the scars of war that cannot always be seen. Harun's search for forgiveness becomes a confrontation with memories he has spent years trying to escape.

Screening as an International Premiere and part of our Belongings strand, HARSH LAND, DISTANT SKY offers a distinctive perspective on the human cost of conflict.

Book Your Premiere Tickets

a boy holding out a red cape like a superhero

Fri

Oct

13:30

FIVE STORIES IN ONE

SHORTS: UNBROKEN

Certificate CFF-15. 86 minutes.

Some of the most memorable discoveries at a film festival come in smaller packages, and our Short Fusion programme is a chance to experience exceptional filmmaking from around the world.

SHORTS: UNBROKEN brings together five films that explore courage, identity, and the determination to stand your ground, even when the odds are stacked against you.

Across borders, generations and cultures, these stories confront discrimination, political oppression, family expectations and the lasting effects of conflict.

The programme features KRIZALIT, IT MEANS HOPE, WELCOME TO TOOL SHED, JEEM 1983 and BLOW, bringing together filmmaking from Turkey, Iran, the USA, Lebanon and Brazil.

Each film offers a different perspective, but together they explore what it means to hold on to your identity and your voice in difficult circumstances.

If you haven't yet experienced one of our short film programmes, this is a great opportunity to discover five different stories in a single screening.

Book Now

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Subject: Still so much to see at CFF45! Final weekend highlights

CAMBRIDGE

SO MUCH STILL TO SEE AT CFF45!