We present the main competitions

At a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult for children and adolescents to navigate a rapidly changing world full of uncertainty and pressure, films that provide them with support, understanding and hope are all the more important. The programme presents films from various parts of the world – from Europe to Brazil and as far as Iraq or South Korea – and connects themes of friendship, courage, faith and identity, often with an emphasis on hope and the strength of human relationships.

It is interesting that this year female protagonists prevail over the male ones, especially in the youth section, which is not the result of a deliberate programming intention, but rather a natural reflection of contemporary global production.

At the same time, the Zlín Film Festival offers a unique opportunity to see these films on the big screen – as a counterpoint to today’s individual and often fragmented viewing of content on mobile phones or online platforms – and to rediscover the power of a shared film experience as it was originally intended: in the cinema, where stories come alive with much greater intensity.

Below, we present selected representatives of the individual competition sections – the complete list can be found below.

International Competition of Feature Films in Children Category

The festival will open with the world premiere of the Czech family fantasy film When Parents Turn Divine, the directorial debut of the creative duo Adam Hobzík and Jan Chramosta. The film, also shot in the Zlín Region, connects the contemporary world with the mythology of Slavic gods and thus naturally resonates with this year’s festival theme.

Another world premiere with Czech participation is the animated film Crystal Planet (Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia). This ambitious European project by director Arsen Anton Ostojić invites young viewers into a visually captivating world of an unknown planet. The screenplay was co-written by Eva Papoušková, an author of books for children and young people, and the project is produced by the Czech studio Alkay Animation Prague.

Bernd Sahling, a respected author of films for children and youth, returns to Zlín with his new film Koschka (Germany), which the festival will present in its world premiere. The film, intended for the youngest viewers, works with the motif of caring for animals, through which it naturally opens up themes of friendship and responsibility.

The competition aimed at audiences up to the age of 10 is significantly enriched by Happy Birthday (Egypt), directed by Sarah Goher. The film offers a sensitive insight into friendship as well as deep social differences, while also representing an example of Egyptian cinema for children, which appears at international festivals only rarely.

Romania is not among the countries with a strong production of films for children either. This year’s selection, however, includes Atlas of the Universe (Romania, Bulgaria), directed by the successful director Paul Negoescu. This poetic road movie about courage, perseverance and friendship brings a fresh perspective and expands the geographical as well as thematic diversity of the competition.

• Atlas of the Universe (Atlasul Universului, Paul Negoescu, Romania, Bulgaria, 2026)
• Crystal Planet (Křišťálová planeta, Arsen Anton Ostojić, Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, 2026)
• Grow (John McPhail, United Kingdom, 2025)
• Happy Birthday (Hābī Bīrth Dāy, Sarah Goher, Egypt, 2025)
• King of Wanderers (Koning van de zwervers, Janne Schmidt, The Netherlands, 2025)
• Koschka (Bernd Sahling, Germany, 2026)
• Mira (Marie Limkilde, Denmark, 2025)
• My Life in Versailles (La vie de château – Mon enfance à Versailles, Nathaniel Hlimi, Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat, France, 2025)
• Not a Hero (Rima Das, India, Singapour, 2026)
• Rally – from Paris to the Pyramids (Flaklypa – Fra Paris til pyramidene, Rasmus A. Sivertsen, Norway, 2025, 82 min)
• Splish Splash Forever! (Plitsch Platsch Forever!, Natascha Beller, Switzerland, 2026)
• When Parents Turn Divine (Máma a táta jsou boží, Adam Hobzík, Jan Chramosta, Czech Republic, 2026)

International Competition of Feature Films in Junior Category

The enchanting, visually captivating and promising Brazilian film Gugu’s World (Brazil), directed by Allan Deberton, offers an authentic view of growing up in an environment of strong cultural and social contrasts and allows young audiences to explore different worlds and life experience.

A strong auteur title is The Altar Boys (Poland) by director Piotr Domalewski, which opens up themes of faith, identity and the relationship of the younger generation to authority. This original film about friendship is also a moving portrait of the naïveté of “childlike” faith – a kind of mirror image of the adult world – set in a church environment.

An exceptional title with Iraqi participation is The President’s Cake (Iraq, Qatar, USA), directed by Hasan Hadi. The story of a poor girl, set in 1990s Iraq, offers a unique view of growing up in a different cultural and historical context and brings young audiences closer to a reality that is only rarely represented on screen.

• Bert (Bert sabbar allt, Manuel Concha, Sweden, 2025)
• Gugu´s World (Feito Pipa, Allan Deberton, Brazil, 2026)
• Ish (Imran Perretta, United Kingdom, 2025)
• Malavia (Nunzia De Stefano, Italy, 2025)
• The Altar Boys (Ministranci, Piotr Domalewski, Poland, 2025)
• The President´s Cake (Mamlaket al-qasab, Hasan Hadi, Iraq, Qatar, USA, 2025)

International Competition of Feature Films in Youth Category

The film TRAD (Ireland) connects a coming-of-age story with the energy of Irish traditional music, which becomes a language of emotions, identity and generational conflict. Director Lance Daly returns to Zlín after 14 years with a film in which music plays a key role in the search for one’s own voice.

The Slovak co-production The Flood (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium), directed by Martin Gonda, is an impressive debut set in 1980 in the area of the Starina Valley in north-eastern Slovakia. Against the backdrop of forced displacement due to the construction of a reservoir, it offers a powerful and unusual view of growing up and the loss of home.

The film The World of Love (South Korea), directed by Yoon Ga-eun, concludes the selection of strong auteur titles. The director, whose work has long been associated with the Zlín Film Festival, offers a sensitive view of relationships, growing up and social pressure in the context of contemporary South Korean society.

• Patty Is Such a Girly Name (Poly koritsistiko onoma to Patty, Giorgos Georgopoulos, Greece, 2025)
• The Flood (Potopa, Martin Gonda, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, 2025)
• The Gymnast (Charlotte Glynn, USA, 2025)
• The World of Love (Segyeui Ju-in, Yoon Ga-eun, South Korea, 2025)
• TRAD (Lance Daly, Ireland, 2026)
• Weightless (Vægtløs, Emilie Thalund, Denmark, 2025)