The Film by the Sea festival always has a triple focus: French films (new and old), adaptations from books (of which there are 39 in the programme this year), and locally made films about Zeeland. On top of that, the main theme of the festival this year is "Moed", the Dutch word for courage. The determination to stand for truth and justice even when challenged by authorities. But also the personal willpower to follow your dreams, to be true to your identity.

Other sections focus on cinema in the Dutch Caribbean islands and the Dutch colonial presence in Indonesia. And there are specials: you can watch Jurassic Park on the beach, or sing along with The Sound of Music. There's loads of other events as well, check out the full programme on the festival's site. And here are several recommendations. Click on the sides of the picture to get the next one!

Opening the festival this year is the world première of Sander Burger's Youri. The film tells the true story about the shy journalist Jan Brokken, who interviewed the flamboyant pianist Youri Egorov. Youri had just fled the Soviet Union because he feared prosecution for his homosexuality, and though the two men were total opposites, a friendship developed and Youri managed to convince Jan to start writing books.

The film ticks off two boxes for the festival: it fits the theme "Courage" and, though this may be a spoiler, it is based on a book by Jan Brokken and will compete for the festival's Film & Literature Award.

After having laurelled Monique van de Ven last year, the festival this year scores a double on film royalty: director Dick Maas and actor Huub Stapel will receive Career Achievement Awards. The two collaborated on movies such as The Lift, Flodder, Amsterdamned, Saint and recently on the first Dutch film shot on IMAX: Amsterdamned II. All of these (and more) are being shown at the festival, and the two gentlemen will be giving a career talk as well.

A few years ago I saw The Taste of Things at the festival and left the cinema extremely hungry. This year, the festival mitigates that risk with a very special screening of Éric Besnard's 2021 film Délicieux, about a cook who leaves his master and starts the first French-cuisine restaurant, just before the French Revolution breaks out.

What makes this screening so special? Well... there will be food. Many of the dishes seen in the film will be served a few minutes before the film starts, giving the audience a chance to sample what they see. Yum yum!

Several classic anime films are being restored and given great 4K releases these days, and some of these appear in cinemas. Film by the Sea has four of these in their programme this year, first and foremost Ōtomo Katsuhiro's 1988 legendary everything-AND-the-kitchen-sink apocalyptic science fiction epic Akira. There are also three films by Hosoda Mamoru, and they chose splendid ones: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars (still his best, in my opinion...) and The Wolf Children, about which I have said a word or two in the past. If you haven't seen this yet, catching them in a cinema will be the best way to experience them. And if you HAVE seen them, or own them, or ehh... own them several times over... come on, the big screen is still the place to be!

Virtual Reality is a thing at the festival, and there are several experiences to visit where you have to put a helmet on.

But the most special experience does not feature a VR-helmet, just a blindfold, a stretch of beach, sound over headphones, and someone who holds your hand and guides you while you walk for a few miles. In Passing On, you and your fellow walkers are part of the story and be warned: due to the intensity of blindfolded walking and the themes covered in the story, there are trigger warnings. Passing On was performed at Oerol festival earlier this year and people there were pretty wild about it.

Vlissingen always features a silent film classic with live music, and this year it is F. W. Murnau's 1921 German Expressionist masterpiece Faust. And it's screened in a church. I could say more but...
Faust...
In a church...
With live music...

Jan Doense, who for a while was generally known as Mr. Horror, is the festival's director, and he considers Tobe Hooper's 1977 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to be the greatest horror film ever made. So he couldn't resist showing the new 4K version at his festival and why should he? He will be introducing the film himself, which is always a treat for horror fans. Film by the Sea also features new films, honestly, but hey, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do...

All good things come to an end, and the festival's official last day is Sunday the 20th of September. The official closing film is Morgan Matthews' drama adventure 500 Miles, in which two young brothers discover that their parents will split up, with each keeping one child. To avoid being separated, the boys run away from home and attempt to travel from the United Kingdom to Ireland, to join their reclusive grandfather. Which is easier said than done without papers, money or help. Based on Mark Lowery’s roman Charlie and Me, like the opening film it ticks the boxes for book adaptations and the festival's theme of "Courage".

ScreenAnarchy will be covering the festival, so expect reviews to pop up here in a few weeks!

Vlissingen 2026: FILM BY THE SEA Recommendations

Vlissingen 2026: FILM BY THE SEA Recommendations

Ard Vijn, Editor, Europe; Rotterdam, The Netherlands (@ardvark23)

August 30 2026, 9:00 AM

On Friday the 11th of September, Vlissingen's Film by the Sea festival starts. It's the 28th edition this year, and it has become one of the largest and most glamorous festivals in the Netherlands. Last year saw over 45 thousand tickets sold, and the average audience rating for the films was a whopping 4.2 out of 5. The increase in ticket sales has been considerable each year, so will the festival hit 50K in 2026? We'll see!

It's quite an achievement for a festival which is, geographically, a bit out-of-the-way for most people. Utrecht, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Leiden are within an hour's travel of each other, but Vlissingen (or Flushing) is in Old Zeeland, in the South-West, part of a group of islands and peninsulas adjacent to the West Coast of Belgium. Getting there takes an effort. Vlissingen is a very nice city though, with a harbor and a beach right next to the cinemas. And with its red-carpet premières, gala clothing and a large selection of films from France, you might say this is the Dutch Cannes.

Do you feel this content is inappropriate or infringes upon your rights? Click here to report it, or see our DMCA policy.