Fans des Genre-Kinos und des etwas abseitigeren Films dürften das Weird Weekender bereits kennen. Stu hat mit Festival-Moderator Asfaha und Programmchef Stefan zwei der Verantwortlichen des Kultfestivals aus Stuttgart vors Mikrofon bekommen und spricht mit ihnen über außergewöhnliche Filme, die Herausforderungen des Festivalstresses und die Frage, was Stuttgart anderen Festivalstädten voraus hat.

Das Weird Weekender findet vom 12. bis 15. November 2026 in den Innenstadtkinos Stuttgart statt. Auf dem Programm stehen sowohl Retro-Highlights wie Jason X (in Anwesenheit des Drehbuchautors) und Cure als auch spannende neue Entdeckungen. Zu den Deutschlandpremieren zählen unter anderem Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie und der von The Raid-Star Iko Uwais produzierte indonesische Actionkracher Ikatan Darah (schaut euch hier unbedingt den Trailer an).

Mehr zum Weird Weekender sowie das gesamte Festival-Program findet ihr auf der offiziellen Website.

The 1985 assassination of Palestinian American activist Alex Odeh in his California office haunted US professor and activist William Lafi Youmans for decades, until he suggested someone should tackle it in a documentary. As it turned out, that someone would be him. Co-directed with Jason Osder, Who Killed Alex Odeh? revisits the unsolved murder. After premiering at Sundance, the gripping documentary debut stops on its prestigious festival run at El Gouna, where the director found time for a conversation with Lidanoir about fighting for justice, the crucial role of Odeh’s family, and the political forces behind the killing whose ripples have reverberated through the US Palestinian community until today.

When El Gouna Film Festival launched in 2017, the idea of a film festival in a purpose-built Red Sea resort town was still unproven. Nine editions later, co-founder Amr Mansi proudly looks at the festival’s growing industry section, an unprecedented number of Arab films, and a growing number of prominent guests. In between appointments, the former top athlete, entrepreneur and CEO found some time to talk with Lidanoir about what inspired the festival, the Egyptian audience’s unique connection to cinema, and what international stars he would most love to see at El Gouna.

Just about seven months Andrew Mohsen had to program his first edition of the El Gouna Film Festival. Boasting a record ten Arab titles, the lineup of 77 films places international festival fare from Sundance to Venice alongside emerging regional voices. On site at the scenic desert destination’s busy festival hub, Lidanoir spoke with the festival’s freshly appointed artistic director about what makes this edition stand out, the role of international stars, and what makes a film good for Gouna.

Already her powerful first feature Soft & Quiet earned Beth de Araújo a Grand Jury Award nomination at SXSW. Based on a personal traumatic childhood experience, her second film follows an 8-year-old girl, played by newcomer Mason Reeves, who becomes the key witness in a rape trial. After premiering at Sundance where it won both the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, Josephine is now screening in the Perlak section for festival highlights at San Sebastián. There the director-writer spoke with Lidanoir about the story’s autobiographical inspiration, rape culture, and shooting with co-star Channing Tatum and Mason.

Twelve years ago, his sarcastic thriller In Order of Disappearance made Hans Petter Moland an internationally known representative of Nordic noir. For his epic entrance into the San Sebastián Film Festival’s main competition, Growth of the Soil, he adapted Knut Hamsun’s Nobel Prize-winning novel of the same title into a monumental drama of humans’ struggle with nature and love. On the day of the premiere screening, the Norwegian director found time for a conversation with Lidanoir about bringing an eternal piece of Norwegian literature to the screen, shooting in the harsh landscape, and giving the allegorical story a modern veneer.

After presenting his first feature film Lake Tahoe in 2008 at San Sebastián and taking home the Golden Shell for Best Film for Club Sandwich five years later, Fernando Eimbcke is back at the renowned film festival for the fifth time with his newest work Moscas. Shot in stark black-and-white, the humorous tale follows a middle-aged loner as she makes friends with the young son of her sublessor. On site at the film festival, the prominent Mexican director talks with Lidanoir about updating a two-decades-old script for the story, what Shakira’s music has to do with its title, and the importance of festival prizes for independent productions.

Lav Diaz continues his prolific connection with the Venice Film Festival, where he won the Golden Lion in 2016 for The Woman Who Left, by returning to the current edition with his new feature film. Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors dives once more into Filipino history to excavate the painful heritage of Christian colonialism through missionary work. In the Palazzo del Cinema, which comes with its own problematic historical connections, the celebrated filmmaker opens up to Lidanoir about the past lingering in the present, facing a neglected chapter of history, and changes in his unique cinematic style.

The involuntary deception and white lies threatening to tear romantic and family bonds apart that play a key role in Michelle Zhou's intimate drama are all too familiar to her. In the most literal sense, since the Chinese director based the story of Big Little Things on her and her partner and producer Chun Yu's own experiences. On site at a rain-swept Venice where the queer romance premieres in the Orizzonti slate, Zhou and Yu talk with Lidanoir about bringing their personal struggle for love and acceptance to the screen, filmmaking as therapy, and the central role of queer cinema as an agent of social acceptance.

Only last year, her feature film debut won Anuparna Roy the Best Director award in the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti section. Now she returns to the same competitive slate with her ambitious sophomore work. Lovers in the Blue Night follows an ensemble cast of migrant workers as they strive for social acceptance, economic stability, and love in the working-class districts of Mumbai. Just ahead of the festival premiere, the Indian director sat down for an interview with Lidanoir about the importance of social realism as a central concept, displaying diversity through dialogue in different dialects, and openly showing female desire in a patriarchal society.