The MIFF has a new director and, for the first time, will have a pre-festival with scheduled activities from August 28 to 30.
The Mequinenza International Film Festival (MIFF) is expanding its program this year with one of its main new features: for the first time, it will hold a pre-Festival , which will start this Friday, August 28, and will extend the film activities throughout the weekend prior to the event, which will take place from September 3 to 6 at the Sala Goya.
The new proposal will allow visitors to enjoy exhibitions and films before the official start of the eleventh edition and will also serve to highlight the relationship of Mequinenza and the Bajo Cinca region with cinema, westerns and its landscapes.
The pre-Festival will begin on Friday, August 28th with the opening, in the Miguel Ibarz Room , of the exhibition A Country of Cinema and Westerns on our borders , dedicated to the relationship between cinema, westerns and the landscapes of Bajo Cinca and its surroundings.
The exhibition can be visited throughout the Festival and connects this cinematic tradition with the Rio Bravo section , dedicated to the western and which has become one of the hallmarks of MIFF since 2023. The exhibition aims to highlight the region's connection with a genre that found in its landscapes natural settings for different film productions.
Ava Gardner and Alec Baldwin, stars of the pre-Festival
The program will continue on Saturday, August 29, at 10:00 p.m. , with the screening, out of competition, of The Night of the Iguana , a film directed by John Huston in 1964 and starring Ava Gardner, Richard Burton and Deborah Kerr.
The choice of the film represents a recognition of one of the great actresses of classic Hollywood and also allows us to remember the link that Gardner maintained with Spain.
On Sunday, August 30, at 7:00 p.m. , it will be the turn of Rust , a western directed by Joel Souza and starring Alec Baldwin . The film will serve as a tribute to its cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins , who died in an accident during filming in 2021, a circumstance that delayed the film's release until 2024.
The two films also establish a common thread between cinema in front of and behind the camera , while Two Outlaws connects directly with the MIFF section dedicated to westerns.
A festival that changes direction after ten years
The pre-festival will serve as a prelude to the eleventh edition of MIFF , which this year arrives with new features in both its structure and content, as well as a change in leadership. After ten years with Javier Rodes as director, the festival will now be directed by Enrique Novials.
The new director highlighted that the addition of the pre-Festival will allow for an expanded program and, especially, "to connect generations thanks to classic cinema that sparked a passion for film in many of the directors, actors and technical teams who will be with you these days."
Water will continue to be the central theme of the festival, referring to the rivers that converge in Mequinenza and the territorial transformation brought about by the construction of the Riba-roja and Mequinenza reservoirs. This element will foster a dialogue between cinema, territory, landscape, and memory, transforming the town into a meeting point for filmmakers, creators, professionals, and audiences during the MIFF.
More than 3.100 short films from 131 countries
The international scope of the festival is once again reflected in its competition. This year, more than 3.100 short films from 131 countries were submitted , from which 30 finalists have been selected to compete for the Silucams , the festival's award.
Among them are also two short films shot in Mequinenza , a fact that, as highlighted by provincial deputy José Carlos Tirado , demonstrates the potential of the town as a filming location with multiple possibilities.
Tirado also emphasized that the festival's history, spanning more than a decade, "demonstrates how well they do things and the good health they enjoy," adding that this year's expanded program "already foreshadows its growth and success."
In 2026, MIFF maintains its status as a collaborating festival and pre-selector of the Goya Awards of the Film Academy and is part of the Network of Film Festivals and Showcases of Aragon (ARAFIMLFEST).
Furthermore, since 2025 it has held the declaration of Activity of Tourist Interest of Aragon , a recognition that reinforces its role as a platform for disseminating short films and supporting new creators and professionals, as well as its connection with the cultural and tourist promotion of Mequinenza.
The Councillor for Culture, Darío Vidallet , has defined the festival as an "unmissable event on the calendar of activities" because of its ability to bring cinematic proposals to the territory that might not otherwise arrive, in addition to providing an important international projection to Mequinenza.
Three feature films out of competition
Another new feature of this edition will be that, for the first time, MIFF will screen three feature films out of competition.
In addition to the two films programmed during the pre-Festival, there will be Retazos de un latido (Fragments of a Heartbeat) , a historical documentary directed by the Aragonese filmmaker Sadie Duarte , which will be screened on Sunday, September 6, at 6:00 p.m. , as the closing event of the program.
The film recovers, based on the research of Carlos Cubero and Batiste Estruga , the collective memory of Mequinenza and the demolition process of the old Poble Vell , which disappeared as a result of the construction of the Riba-roja reservoir.
More presence of creators and a new animation section
This year, MIFF will also strengthen the presence of the directors and producers of the finalist short films. There will be more public screenings of the works, and special attention will be given to the films included in Panorama Aragonés , a section that once again showcases the strength of productions from Aragon.
The aim is to reinforce the MIFF's meeting character and facilitate direct contact between creators and spectators.
On the other hand, the animation section has been restructured and broadened its approach to move beyond its traditional exclusive association with children and target viewers of different ages.
MIFF doubles the funding for its main prizes
The 2026 edition also incorporates an increase in the financial endowment of its main awards.
The prizes for Best Fiction Short Film, Best Documentary Short Film, Best Animated Short Film, Best Western and the "Antonio Blas" Audience Award have increased from 200 to 400 euros , doubling their amount compared to previous editions.
In addition, there is the Aragón TV Award for Best Aragonese Short Film , which includes a prize of 900 euros through the transfer of broadcasting and promotion rights for the work on the regional television channels.
From September 3rd to 6th at the Goya Room
Following this weekend's pre-Festival, MIFF will officially celebrate its eleventh edition from Thursday, September 3rd to Sunday, September 6th at the Sala Goya.
The official program will begin on Thursday, September 3rd with the presentation and opening of the Festival and will end on Sunday, September 6th with the screening of Retazos de un latido.
The Closing Gala and Awards Ceremony will take place on Saturday, September 5th in the afternoon.
With this new edition, the Mequinenza International Film Festival reinforces its identity as a competition linked to water, territory and landscape , but open at the same time to different genres, eras and cinematic languages.
And this year, for the first time, MIFF will not wait until September 3rd to start filming: the festival kicks off this Friday with three days of pre-festival events.
