From 23 to 28 June 2026, the Biarritz Film Festival – Nouvelles Vagues returns for its fourth edition. Created in 2023, this event devoted entirely to stories of youth has, in just a few years, become a key stop for emerging international cinema — while remaining deeply rooted in its city. For those who live here, it’s a chance, over six days and sometimes for free, to have your feet in the sand and your eyes on films you won’t see anywhere else for a long time.
Kristen Stewart heads the jury
American actress and director Kristen Stewart chairs this year’s jury for the international feature-film competition. She is joined by seven figures: French director Nathan Ambrosioni, French actress Suzy Bemba, Italian director Carolina Cavalli, British actress Esmé Creed-Miles, Indian actor Ishaan Khatter, Canadian actress Whitney Peak, and French actor and director Raphaël Quenard.
True to its principle, the festival doesn’t settle for a single jury: alongside the feature-film jury, an international jury of film-school students and a jury of young Pass Culture beneficiaries also deliberate. Here, the younger generations aren’t only on screen — they vote, debate and take part in the conversation.
Eight previously unreleased features in competition
The heart of the programme remains its international competition of eight feature films, all previously unreleased in French cinemas and focused on youth and its portrayals around the world. The eight films in contention:
- La Chaleur – Stéphane Demoustier (France) — world premiere
- La Gradiva – Marine Atlan (France) — Critics’ Week Grand Prize at Cannes
- Les Fraises – Laïla Marrakchi (Morocco) — screened at Cannes (Un Certain Regard)
- Animol – Ashley Walters (United Kingdom) — French premiere
- Big Girls Don’t Cry – Paloma Schneideman (New Zealand) — French premiere
- Congo Boy – Rafiki Fariala (Central African Republic / France / DRC / Italy)
- No Good Men – Shahrbanoo Sadat
- Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma – Jane Schoenbrun
Three separate juries will hand out their prizes: the competition jury, chaired by Kristen Stewart, but also the film-school students’ jury and that of the young Pass Culture beneficiaries.
Beyond the competition, more than thirty films round out the line-up: previews from Cannes, the Les Nouvelles Vagues du Monde section bringing together five young filmmakers awarded at the major festivals, a short-film competition (jury chaired by Anthony Bajon), a heritage screening, and talks with guest filmmakers.
Two running themes: artificial intelligence and the ocean
The 2026 edition builds its reflection around two themes, explored in two professional days at the Casino Municipal. The Cinema & Artificial Intelligence day examines how AI is transforming the writing, images and imaginations of the seventh art. The Cinema & Ocean day, on 26 June, brings cinema into dialogue with the marine environment — a theme that resonates especially in Biarritz, and one that here goes beyond a simple postcard backdrop.
A section for Basque youth, and screenings on the beach
Two events deserve particular attention from a local angle. The Gazteria section is dedicated to young Basque audiences and to local culture. And above all, the open-air screenings on the beach, free and without booking, have become one of the festival’s signatures: a moment open to everyone that turns the seafront into a cinema for an evening.
The festival keeps its home base at the Cinéma Le Royal (8 avenue du Maréchal Foch), recently renovated, and also takes over other venues in the city, including the Gare du Midi.
An edition dedicated to Lili Hinstin
This fourth edition is dedicated to Lili Hinstin, the festival’s artistic director since its founding, who passed away this past March. It was she who, with her team, built from the very first edition a programming line praised for its rigour and its distinctiveness.
Practical information
- When: Tuesday 23 to Sunday 28 June 2026
- Where: Cinéma Le Royal (8 avenue du Maréchal Foch), Gare du Midi, Casino Municipal, and Biarritz beach for the open-air screenings
- Tickets: online at nouvelles-vagues.org and on site at the Cinéma Le Royal. Single tickets and session or day passes, with reduced rates (under-25s, students, jobseekers, those on income support, people with disabilities).
- Free: the open-air screenings on the beach, no booking required
- Day-by-day programme (titles, times, special screenings): see the official website nouvelles-vagues.org
The detailed programme and up-to-date prices are published on nouvelles-vagues.org.