Discover the best of contemporary European cinema at the CIFF European Film Weekend – a free, three-day pocket festival celebrating bold storytelling from across the EU presented in partnership with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland and our Principal Venue Partner,The Arc Cinema.
Enjoy the five feature films shortlisted for the 2026 LUX Audience Award – and have your say by rating them – alongside a specially curated programme of standout European shorts.
As the official Irish partner of the LUX Audience Award and representative at the European Film Academy (EFA) Short Film Award, CIFF is proud to present a special European Film Weekend, from Friday 6th to Sunday 8th February, bringing outstanding contemporary European cinema to Cork audiences free of charge.
Taking place at the GATE at the Arc Cinema, a home for independent and international film, this is a rare chance to experience award-contending cinema on the big screen, completely free*.
In addition to the LUX Audience Awards screenings, CIFF will present an additional free* programme of shorts nominated for the European Film Awards ‘European Short Film – Prix Vimeo 2026’ curated by our senior programmer Don O’Mahony.
*FREE but ticketed. All films/shorts programmes must be pre-booked via corkfilmfest.org or myCIFF app.
The European Film Weekend will be hosted at The Arc Cinema Cork, with all films on Saturday and Sunday showing in the GATE Screen, a space dedicated to showcasing curated indie and international films, championing independent filmmakers, and amplifying diverse voices. Located in Screen 6, it features luxurious double sofa seats and tables, creating an intimate and sophisticated viewing experience.
CIFF EUROPEAN FILM WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday 6th – Sunday 8th February at ARC Cinema, Cork City
Friday, 6th February
LUX AUDIENCE AWARD SCREENING: DEAF (SORDA)
18:30
Directed by Eva Libertad | Spain | 99 min | 2025 | Subtitled
Ángela, a Deaf woman, is expecting a child with her hearing partner, Héctor. The baby’s arrival disrupts their relationship, forcing Ángela to face the challenges of raising her daughter in a world not made for her.
Our opening night film will include welcome speeches which will be accompanied by Irish Sign Language interpretation.
Saturday, 7th February
LUX AUDIENCE AWARD SCREENING: IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
15:15
Directed by Jafar Panahi | Iran, France, Luxembourg | 105 min | 2025 | Subtitled
What begins as a minor accident sets in motion a series of escalating consequences.
LUX AUDIENCE AWARD SCREENING: LOVE ME TENDER
17:30
Directed by Anna Cazenave Cambet | France | 134 min | 2025 | Subtitled
At the end of summer, Clémence tells her ex-husband that she’s had relationships with women. Her life is turned upside down when he files to strip her of their son’s custody. Then begins a struggle of several years for Clémence to defend her right to be a mother and a woman – free to make her own choices.
Sunday, 8th February
EUROPEAN FILM AWARD: NOMINATED SHORTS SHOWCASE
13:15
Check out these bite-sized European gems nominated for the European Short Film Award, including our Festival’s nominated Short Film Candidate, Man Number 4, which was also awarded the Grand Prix Documentary Short Award in 2024. (Total run time: 85 mins)
DULL SPOTS OF GREENISH COLOURS
Sasha Svirsky | Germany | 2024 | 11 mins | Animation
Our attention has become a territory that all media are fighting to conquer. No matter whether the goal of this conquest is a commercial interest or political indoctrination, we are under siege.
THE SPECTACLE
Bálint Kenyeres | Hungary, France | 2025 | 17 mins | Fiction
A young Roma boy is lifted into the light, only to find it fades in an unexpected way.
LOOKING SHE SAID I FORGET
Naomi Pacifique | Netherlands, Switzerland | 2024 | 25 mins | Fiction
Having just moved to Amsterdam, Lou prepares her new apartment that she will share with her partner, Joel. Though for now, Joel is on a trip with an intimate other. Confronted with the complexities of her non-monogamous relationship, Lou shifts her gaze to the rhythms of her new city.
CITY OF POETS
Sara Rajaei | Netherlands | 2024 | 22 mins | Documentary
In a small, semi-utopian city, all the streets are named after poets. When war begins, new neighborhoods emerge to accommodate the refugees. Soon the citizens find themselves lost amid the memories of the forgotten poets.
MAN NUMBER 4
Miranda Pennell | UK | 2024 | 10 mins | Documentary, Experimental
Gaza, December 2023. A confrontation with a disturbing photograph on social media triggers questions about what it means to be an onlooker.
LUX AUDIENCE AWARD SCREENING: CHRISTY
15:15
Directed by Brendan Canty | Ireland, United Kingdom | 94 min | 2025
Seventeen-year-old Christy is at a crossroads. He’s just been thrown out of his pleasant suburban foster home and moved in with his estranged older brother Shane. As far as Shane is concerned this is a temporary arrangement, but Christy begins to feel at home on Cork’s working class north side. As he makes friends and begins to let the community in, he also reconnects with his past through his seemingly more corrupting extended family, despite Shane’s efforts to steer him away from this crowd. Shane wants something better for Christy at any cost – even if it means he has to push him away. After so many years apart, the brothers need to now reconcile their turbulent past whilst deciding what the future looks like.
LUX AUDIENCE AWARD SCREENING: SENTIMENTAL VALUE
17:30
Directed by Joachim Trier | Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden | 135 min | 2025 | Subtitled
Sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he’s given her part to an eager young Hollywood star. Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father and deal with an American star dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics.
The LUX Audience Award aims to strengthen ties across Europe by connecting audiences through cinema and inviting them to become an active part of the European film community by rating their favourite films. An integral part of these screenings is rating your favourite film in the largest audience award in the world. Therefore, CIFF invites all audiences to rate the LUX Audience Award films they’ve watched over the weekend festival via a very simple star rating. Rate before 12 April 2026 (end of the day) and don’t miss the chance to win a range of exciting prizes, including a trip to the European Parliament in Brussels to attend the LUX Award Ceremony on 14 April 2026 and meet directors and film crews of the nominees.
The LUX Audience Award screenings are proudly presented by Cork International Film Festival in partnership with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland and the Arc Cinema.
About LUX – The European Audience Film Award
LUX is the largest audience award worldwide and the only film prize in the world where citizens together with Members of a democratically elected Parliament – with each group weighting 50% – can decide who the winner will be by rating the nominated films online. The LUX Audience Award fosters dialogue and engagement between politics and the public through the medium of film. The nominated films address European values and raise awareness about some of today’s main social and political issues such as mental health, poverty, climate change, freedom of expression, gender equality, LGBTIQ+ rights. During the competition period, the European Parliament provides subtitles in the 24 EU languages, organises free screenings across the 27 Member States, and provides the winning film with subtitles for hearing impaired audiences.
Further information on the Award is available at www.luxaward.eu
