Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival has unveiled the programme for its fifth anniversary edition, bringing a selection of films from Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus to audiences across Scotland.
The 2026 festival will run from 6 October to 7 November, with screenings and events taking place in Glasgow, Cromarty, Edinburgh, Dunfermline and Aberdeen.
The programme combines contemporary cinema, archive screenings, documentaries, experimental works and filmmaker events, with a particular focus on themes of memory, identity, migration and belonging.
Samizdat 2026 Highlights Eastern European Cinema
Among the programme highlights is a rare 35mm screening of Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky’s Werckmeister Harmonies, alongside Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s Mother Joan of the Angels. The festival will also present Ukrainian cinema, including the UK premiere of Yulia Appen’s A Home for Rita and Maria Stoianova’s Fragments of Ice.
The Re-membering the Archive strand explores personal and collective histories through archival footage, photographs and home videos, while Love Stories: Eastern European and Caucasian Romance brings together three films exploring love, relationships and belonging.
The festival’s Short Film Competition will feature 15 films from across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, competing for the Audience Award. For its fifth anniversary, Samizdat will also present a specially curated collection of short films selected by its programming team.
Beyond Glasgow, the festival will expand its reach across Scotland, with selected screenings in Cromarty, Edinburgh, Dunfermline and Aberdeen. Tickets are now on sale, with most screenings operating on a pay-what-you-can basis.
