A journey through the D'A Festival 2026 in nine films and a series

BarcelonaIf the lifeblood of cinema is renewed and flows through the veins of theaters, it's thanks to festivals like D'A, which celebrates its 16th edition from this Thursday until March 29th. More than 120 films will be screened at the festival's various venues (CCCB, Mooby Aribau, Filmoteca de Catalunya, Zumzeig, and Casa Montjuïc), which will feature the star presence of Mia Hansen-Løve, winner of the 2026 D'A Award for her still short but extraordinary career.

'Mirrors No. 3'

Christian PetzoldThe best contemporary German filmmaker is the focus of this edition of D'A, which features sublime melodramas such as Barbara either Phoenix and the irresistible comedy The red skybut also Christian Petzold's latest film, the unreleased Mirrors No. 3Starring the luminous Paula Beer, this drama about grief and the anguish of living follows a piano student who, after a fatal car accident, recovers at the home of an older woman she has just met.

'Ivan & Hadoum'

In his slim opera, Ian de la Rosa It transcends the clichés of trans narratives to tell a story of love and class dignity that goes beyond identity conflicts. Iván is a trans man who works in a greenhouse and begins a relationship with Hadoum, the rebellious daughter of North African migrants. But their budding love is threatened by the financial hardships of Iván's family. Winner of the Teddy Award for Best LGBTQ+ Film at the Berlinale and the Special Jury Prize and Best Screenplay at the Málaga Film Festival.

'The Love That Remains'

The Finn's turn of the wheel Hlynur Pálmason, who after settling accounts with Iceland's past to Godland Pálmason makes his debut as a portraitist of family dynamics during the tumultuous year in which a marriage ends. He captures the fragility of feelings with empathy and tenderness, always keeping sentimentality at bay. The beauty of the Icelandic landscape and a sense of humor that isn't afraid to embrace the absurd make for a very special film, one of the best at the last Cannes Film Festival.

'I always sometimes'

Jessie Buckley didn't know it, but when she dedicated her Oscar a few days ago to Hamnet "In the precious chaos of a mother's heart" was actually referring to the magnificent series created by Marta Bassols and Marta Loza, which premieres its first two episodes at D'A. I always sometimes It has the courage to portray, with humor and without condescension, the leap into motherhood of an adventurous and independent girl who tries not to lose herself while life forces her to mature through harsh realities.

'The Currents'

Argentine director Milagros Mumenthaler knows how to start a film. After receiving a prestigious award in Geneva, an Argentine fashion designer throws the trophy in the trash and jumps from a bridge into the icy waters of the Rhône. The arbitrariness of the gesture acts like a spell, setting the tension for the scenes that follow. The currentsA fascinating drama about an identity in crisis, narrated with elegance, mystery, and a charming, underlying humor.

'Le cri des gardes'

The grande dame of European auteur cinema returns. Based on the work of Bernard-Marie Koltès Black combat te de chiens,Claire Denis It films the dialectical confrontation between the foreman of a construction project in Africa (Matt Dillon) and the brother of one of the Black workers (Isaach de Bankolé), murdered by a white engineer. Neocolonialism, sensuality, horror, and the tragic, dusty beauty of deepest Africa.

'The Good Daughter'

In the film closing the D'A Film Festival, a teenager tries to cling to her relationship with her father in a desperate attempt to hold together a family already destroyed by gender-based violence. Júlia de Paz, a filmmaker from Sant Cugat with a background in chess, debuted in 2021 with LoveIt portrays the intimacy of the father-daughter relationship to explore themes of legacy, guilt, and the power of female friendship.

'Ghost elephants'

Fans of Werner Herzog will need only a few seconds of the filmmaker's abrasive narration to feel right at home in this National Geographic documentary that sets out in search of the largest elephants on Earth. Blending adventure and anthropological research, Herzog amplifies the mythological dimension of the creatures he pursues, like a dream that haunts him.

'The Sound of Falling'

The film that impressed hardcore cinephiles at the last Cannes Film Festival is a magical realism tale set on a farm in northern Germany that intertwines the stories of four women from different eras. Ethereal and fragmented, Mascha Schilinski's images bring together subjective experiences touched by death, shaping this complex and demanding story that reveals a magnificent new director.

'Another Man'

After closing the 2020 D'A online with Stormy nightDavid Moragas will inaugurate the new edition of the festival with this story about how obsession and doubts unbalance a couple made up of two men. Another man It has a lot of insight into a relationship, but even more of an introspective study of the insecurities, desires, and pressures that we don't even confess to ourselves.