Silk Road International Film Festival announces programme for its 14th edition at Trinity College Dublin, and on Silk Road ON DEMAND

Luxembourg’s Oscar submission CHILD opens the 14th Silk Road International Film Festival on 9 November, as a delegation from the Shanghai International Film & TV Festivals Center visits Dublin and Shanghai Golden Goblet winner The Blind Girl and an Elephant streams across Ireland

Dublin, 27 October 2026. The Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF) returns for its 14th edition from 9 to 15 November 2026. Screenings take place in person at Trinity College Dublin from Monday to Saturday, with an online programme available across Ireland all week on the festival’s own platform, Silk Road ON DEMAND.

Selected from more than 200 submissions under the theme “The Silk Road and beyond”, the programme brings together films from Luxembourg, Türkiye, Poland, Japan, China, Mexico, Bangladesh, Estonia, Ireland and further afield. All features screening at Trinity are Irish premieres.

The festival opens on Monday 9 November with CHILD, directed by Cyrus Neshvad, Luxembourg’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards.

The week continues with About My Mom (dir. Soner Sert, Türkiye) on Tuesday 10 November, the story of a man who returns from Germany for the fifth anniversary of his mother’s death and sets out across rural Türkiye with the father he blames for it. On Thursday 12 November, Glorious Summer (dir. Helena Ganjalyan and Bartosz Szpak, Poland), a debut feature shot on 16mm, follows three young girls spending an endless summer in a sunlit palace as cracks begin to appear.

On Wednesday 11 November, BAFTA and IFTA-winning production designer Anna Rackard gives Authentic Worlds: A Production Design Masterclass, supported by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland. Entry is free, and booking is essential.

Short film is at the heart of the festival. International Shorts on Friday 13 November presents seven films from Japan, China, the USA, Poland, the Netherlands and Canada. New Irish Shorts on Saturday 14 November showcases thirteen Irish films, seven of them by student filmmakers and one in the Irish language.

For audiences outside Dublin, fourteen features stream across Ireland on Silk Road ON DEMAND from 9 to 15 November, including The Blind Girl and an Elephant, winner of a Golden Goblet at the Shanghai International Film Festival, alongside Budapest Diaries, Diplodocus (Director’s Cut), A Palmful of Stars, Those Who Whistle After Dark, Torn, Texas Ollie and Where the Sun Shines Bright. Most of the festival’s short films are also available online.

Carla Mooney, Festival Director, said: “Most of the films at SRIFF would never otherwise reach Ireland. This year that includes Shanghai Golden Goblet winner The Blind Girl and an Elephant and Those Who Whistle After Dark from Türkiye, both streaming across Ireland. For fourteen years, Irish audiences have met these films halfway, and this year we welcome a delegation from Shanghai to Dublin for the festival.” 

This year’s programme travels from Luxembourg to Bangladesh, from Mexico to China, and back home to Ireland.

At Trinity College Dublin

• Mon 9 Nov, 19:00: Opening night with the Irish premiere of CHILD by Cyrus Neshvad, Luxembourg’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards
• Tue 10 Nov, 19:00: About My Mom by Soner Sert (Irish premiere)
• Wed 11 Nov, 19:00: Authentic Worlds, a free production design masterclass with BAFTA and IFTA-winning production designer Anna Rackard
• Thu 12 Nov, 19:00: Glorious Summer by Helena Ganjalyan and Bartosz Szpak (Irish premiere, shot on 16mm)
• Fri 13 Nov, 19:00: International Shorts, seven films from Japan, China, the USA, Poland, the Netherlands and Canada
• Sat 14 Nov, 09:00: New Irish Shorts, thirteen new Irish films, seven of them by student filmmakers

Online, 9 to 15 November

Most of this year’s films stream on Silk Road ON DEMAND, including features and documentaries you can only see online: The Blind Girl and an Elephant, winner of a Golden Goblet at the Shanghai International Film Festival; Those Who Whistle After Dark, winner of Best Actress at the Istanbul Film Festival; A Bigger Place; Budapest Diaries; and Texas Ollie. Available to watch in Ireland.

See the full programme and book tickets

The masterclass is supported by Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland. Screenings hosted at Trinity College Dublin. Festival poster by João Fonseca.

Wednesday 11 November 2026, 19:00

Swift Lecture Theatre, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin (enter from Nassau Street)

Free entry, registration essential

Register free on Eventbrite

Discover how a production designer transforms a script into a fully realized cinematic world. In this masterclass, production designer Anna Rackard shares her creative process – from initial script analysis and research to developing a distinct visual language. Learn how she collaborates with her creative team to build authentic, atmospheric, character-driven spaces.

Using case studies from her own extensive work in both period and contemporary drama, Anna will break down how specific design choices—including colour palette, texture, and props – shape tone and mood and enhance character and story.

The presentation is followed by an audience Q&A.

Suitable for: Aspiring production designers, film students, and industry professionals looking to deepen their understanding of the craft.

About Anna Rackard

Anna Rackard’s film career spans over 30 years, during which she has collaborated with directors including Lenny Abrahamson, Neil Jordan, Nicolas Roeg, and Whit Stillman. A member of AMPAS (the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), she received a Children’s Craft Team BAFTA in 2025 for her work on The Velveteen Rabbit. She also won Irish Film & Television Awards in 2010 and 2012 for her design work on Ondine and Stella Days, respectively.

Part of the 14th Silk Road International Film Festival, 9 to 15 November 2026. Supported by Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland. Hosted at Trinity College Dublin.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Béla Tarr, one of the most singular and influential voices in world cinema.

In 2017, Béla Tarr was welcomed to the Silk Road International Film Festival as part of SRIFF Honours, delivering a masterclass at Trinity College Dublin. The masterclass was supported by Trinity College Dublin and Screen Skills Ireland (formally Screen Training Ireland), reflecting a shared commitment to artistic excellence, film education, and international cultural exchange.

Renowned for landmark works including Sátántangó, Werckmeister Harmonies, and The Turin Horse, Tarr reshaped the language of cinema, urging audiences to slow down, to observe, and to engage with the deeper moral and philosophical dimensions of human existence. Beyond his extraordinary body of work, he was a devoted teacher and mentor whose influence continues through generations of filmmakers worldwide.

We remember Béla Tarr with deep gratitude and respect. His legacy endures through his films, his teaching, and the lasting impact he made on those who had the privilege to learn from him.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Founders & Directors of Silk Road International Film Festival

Carla Mooney, Delwyn Mooney & Steinar Oli Jonsson

#BelaTarr #SRIFFHonours #WorldCinema #TrinityCollegeDublin #ScreenSkillsIreland #SilkRoadFilmFestival