2026 Golden Horse Film Festival Reveals First Lineup, Runs Nov 6 in Taipei
The 63rd Golden Horse Film Festival (台北金馬影展) has unveiled its first wave of 18 international-premiere titles. The festival runs from November 6 to November 22, 2026 in Taipei. The initial slate draws from major festival winners — including a Sundance directing award, a Berlinale Silver Bear, and a Locarno Golden Leopard — and features actors Isabelle Huppert, Jude Law, and Kristen Stewart. Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi, an Oscar nominee for Babel, is confirmed to attend in person.
What was announced
Organizers have released detailed descriptions for nine films so far:
- Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! — Rinko Kikuchi stars as a widow returning to the dance floor. Japanese-American director Joseph Kubota Wladyka drew on his 80-year-old mother's love of dancing for this musical blending song, dance, and magical realism. Winner of Sundance's U.S. Dramatic Directing Award.
- The Blood Countess — Isabelle Huppert plays a vampire seeking an ancient text to end her bloodline's curse. Directed by avant-garde filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger, with contributions from The Piano Teacher author Elfriede Jelinek, in a baroque, grotesque style.
- The Wizard of the Kremlin — French director Olivier Assayas adapts the bestselling novel about an artist-turned-TV-producer who becomes a political power broker after the Soviet collapse. Paul Dano plays the strategist; Jude Law plays Putin.
- Full Phil — French director Quentin Dupieux's latest, in which a wealthy father takes his estranged daughter on a spiraling trip through Paris. Stars Woody Harrelson and Kristen Stewart in a mix of family drama, dark comedy, and monster movie.
- Bedford Park — Korean-American director Stephanie Ahn's debut feature, starring Choi Hee-seo and My Liberation Notes's Son Seok-gu, about a Korean-American woman who returns home after her mother's car accident and forms a bond with the man responsible. Won Sundance's U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize for a first feature.
- Yo (Love Is a Rebellious Bird) — Directors Anja Fetzer and Ben White spent ten years building a one-third-scale model of a deceased friend's home, using puppetry to recreate memory. Winner of the Berlinale's Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution.
- The Loneliest Man in Town — Austrian blues musician Al Cook plays himself in this documentary tracing his forced eviction from a Vienna apartment building slated for redevelopment, and from a lifetime of possessions.
- You Don't Belong Here — Romanian director Florin Șerban's film about a small town shaken by racially motivated violence, where an uninvolved doctor discovers his son may be implicated. Winner of four awards including this year's Locarno Golden Leopard.
- Mile End Kicks — From Chandler Levack, director of I Like Movies, this film follows a young music critic who moves to Montreal to write a book on Alanis Morissette and gets tangled in a love triangle within the indie music scene.
Festival and awards schedule
- 63rd Golden Horse Awards nominations announced: October 1, 2026
- Golden Horse Film Academy: October 19 – November 22, 2026
- Golden Horse International Film Festival: November 6 – November 22, 2026
- Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (co-production market): November 17 – 19, 2026
- 63rd Golden Horse Awards ceremony: Sunday, November 22, 2026 — red carpet at 17:00, ceremony at 18:30
What we don't know yet
Ticket on-sale dates, prices, and venues for individual screenings have not yet been announced, nor has the full program beyond these 18 international-premiere titles. Further details are expected as the festival approaches.