Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winnerFjord” will open the 26th European Film Festival Malaysia (EUFF) on Nov. 26 at TGV Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.
This year, for the first time, some of the festival’s films will also go to home audiences through Malaysian media and entertainment group Astro.
The festival runs through Dec. 13 under the theme “Atlas.” Its 20 films represent 20 countries. Eight of them premiered at Cannes, and three come from last year’s Venice competition.
Astro, one of this year’s official partners, will release a selection of the 20 titles on Astro First, its premium home cinema service, from January 2027. The titles going to the service have not been named yet.
“Audiences today are more discerning, with interests that go beyond familiar genres, languages and cultures,” said Henry Tan, group CEO of Astro. He added that the Astro First release would “bring these films beyond the cinema and into homes across Malaysia, reaching audiences who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience them.”
In “Fjord,” Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve lead the cast as members of a devout Romanian family. After the family moves to Norway, the way they bring up their children comes under scrutiny. It is Mungiu’s second Palme d’Or. Reinsve can also be seen in Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” which took the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2025 and won the Academy Award for best international feature this year.
Two more films come from this year’s Cannes competition. Asghar Farhadi’s “Parallel Tales” stars Isabelle Huppert and Catherine Deneuve, and Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beloved” stars Javier Bardem. Sandra Wollner’s “Everytime,” which won in Un Certain Regard, is also on the program.
The Venice titles include Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia,” which won Toni Servillo the Volpi Cup, and Ildikó Enyedi’s “Silent Friend.” That film stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Léa Seydoux and won the Fipresci Prize. Rounding out the selection are the Dardenne brothers’ “Young Mothers” and László Nemes’ “Orphan.” Pierre Monnard’s “Hello Betty,” a Swiss biopic, will close the festival.
“Many of these films arrive with cinema’s highest honors, but what moved us most was how, placed side by side, they began to speak to one another,” said Yu Ern Chia, EUFF’s festival director. “Almost without planning it, this year’s selection returned again and again to family. These are European stories, but Malaysian audiences will find their own questions in them.”
The Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia runs the festival with Blackflag, which created and produces the “Polis Evo” films, one of Malaysia’s highest-grossing franchises. The 2026 edition opens a four-year partnership between the two that runs through 2029. Seventeen EU member states are taking part, together with Norway, Switzerland and Ukraine. The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS), TGV Cinemas and Astro are official partners.
“Our collaboration embodies the European Union’s motto, ‘United in diversity,’ celebrating the richness of Europe’s different cultures and creative voices, while bringing them together through the universal language of cinema,” said Rafael Daerr, the EU’s ambassador to Malaysia.
EUFF started around the turn of the millennium. In its early years, the embassies of EU member states in Malaysia organized it. Since then it has screened hundreds of European films, held editions in Penang, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu as well as Kuala Lumpur, and gone online during the pandemic. Organizers say it may be the oldest foreign film festival in Malaysia that is still running.
Blackflag has also been releasing world cinema in Malaysia. It recently partnered with GSC International Screens on a release of Edward Yang’s “Yi Yi: A One and a Two,” and with Guangzhou Film Expo and Guangzhou Performance / Film Ltd. on Chinese Film Week 2025.
Source: variety.com
