– The Novi Sad-based event will open with Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab and close with Ivan Ramljak’s Peacemaker
The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania
The Harmless Film Festival has unveiled the programme for its 2026 edition, set to take place in Novi Sad, Serbia, from 26-28 June. The event combines film screenings, master classes and industry discussions, placing a strong emphasis on socially engaged cinema and contemporary political realities.
The festival will open on 26 June with Kaouther Ben Hania’s documentary The Voice of Hind Rajab, the winner of the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize at Venice last year (and also a Toronto participant), which examines the story of the six-year-old Palestinian girl whose death during the war in Gaza sparked international outrage. The screening will be followed by the festival’s opening reception.
The main competition unfolds across four screening blocks on 27 and 28 June, bringing together short and medium-length works from a wide range of territories. Among the titles selected are Reinaldo Cardenuto’s Brazilian documentary A Film to Remind Us of Utopia, Oscar Asán’s Mexican short No Mercy in Mexico, Flaka Kokolli’s 17 O’Clock from North Macedonia and Said Zagha’s international co-production Coyotes.
The programme also includes films addressing the consequences of war and displacement: Anastasiya Gruba’s Ukrainian doc Driving Lessons, Mila Zhluktenko and Daniel Asadi Faezi’s In Retrospect, Fleuryfontaine’s Sixty-Seven Milliseconds and Nikola Ilić’s Exit Through the Cuckoo’s Nest are among the titles screening on the festival’s final day.
Alongside the competition, the gathering’s “All Eyes On” sidebar focuses on Palestine- and conflict-related stories. The section includes the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, directed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. Further Palestinian works include I Know You Can Hear Me, Escape from Farida, Adas Falasteen (Palestine Lentils) and Samidoun: The Steadfast Women of Palestine.
Industry activities include two editions of the Harmless Sip networking sessions, master classes by Serbian filmmaker Lidija Zelović and Croatian director Ivan Ramljak, and a panel discussion entitled “War on Screen”, organised in collaboration with Pro Peace.
The festival will conclude on 28 June with the awards ceremony and a screening of Ramljak’s documentary Peacemaker, which scooped the Golden Dove in DOK Leipzig’s international competition last year.
