Love & Anarchy
17.–27.9.2026

Founded in 1988, the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy has been held annually ever since. The aim of Finland’s biggest film festival is to promote the artistry of filmmaking alongside inventive, controversial and visually stunning new films. The festival also seeks to screen films that would otherwise not be seen in Finnish theatres.

The festival programme consists of new films from well-known filmmakers and fresh talents alike. In its first few years the programme was heavily focused on Japanese and Hong Kong films. Since then, the programme has evolved; Asian films still play a part but films from all other continents feature too. The ideological masters of the festival aren’t too tough to pick out – Lina Wertmüller (Love and Anarchy, 1973), Wong Kar-wai, Spike Lee, Claire Denis, Peter Greenaway, Gaspar Noé, Kelly Reichardt, John Woo, David Cronenberg, Takeshi Kitano, Todd Solondz, Takashi Miike and Hayao Miyazaki are all names that pop up in the festival programme year and decade after another.

During its over 30-year lifespan, the Helsinki International Film Festival has expanded from two theatres to 18 screens and established itself as an 11-day homage to cinema. In 1988 the festival screened 26 films. In 2020, the programme consisted of 140 feature films and 170 short films. In 2018 HIFF launched its R&A Shorts National Competition.

The 2024 festival gathered approximately 55 000 visitors.

Each year HIFF invites important filmmakers to speak about their work and meet both audiences and industry professionals. In past years the festival has had the honour of welcoming guests such as Spike Lee, Danny Boyle, Tilda Swinton, Naoko Ogigami, Jan Kounen, Aleksandr Sokurov, Baz Luhrmann, Philip Ridley, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jacques Audiard, Lucile Hadžihalilović, Terence Davies, Cristian Mungiu and Timothy Spall.

The festival is organised by the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy association.

The festival is supported by the Finnish Film Foundation, the City of Helsinki and the European Union’s Creative Europe MEDIA programme.

The festival staff and their contact information can be found on the Contact page.

Ticket inquiries: liput@hiff.fi

Separate wheelchair tickets are sold for accessible cinema theaters and can be purchased online and at R&A ticket sales points.
Wheelchair tickets are reserved for wheelchair users, as there are no seats in the designated wheelchair area. Therefore, wheelchair tickets will not be sold to other people, even if tickets remain available.

Assistant tickets can be redeemed free of charge by e-mailing liput@hiff.fi or at a ticket sales point. The assistant ticket must be redeemed before the screening begins. It is not possible to redeem an assistant ticket for sold-out screenings, unfortunately.

For more information on accessibility, please visit:
Accessibility at venues

Contact person for accessibility at venues

Contact person for more information on accessibility:
Claire Delhom, claire@hiff.fi, phone 045 641 5005

Content warnings

We use content warnings in our films. They are intended to give the viewer advance warning of potentially disturbing content or imagery. We also mention any strobe lights in the content warnings.

Festival cinemas

Bio Rex Lasipalatsi, Mannerheimintie 22–24
Kinopalatsi, Kaisaniemenkatu 2
Maxim, Kluuvikatu 1
Kino Regina, Töölönlahdenkatu 4, Central Library Oodi, ground floor
Cinema Orion, Eerikinkatu 15
Kino Töölö, Töölönkatu 51
Kino Engel, Sofiankatu 4
WHS Teatteri Union, Siltavuorenranta 18
Savoy Theatre, Kasarmikatu 46
Vuotalo, Mosaiikkitori 2
Gilda, Narinkka 2

Other venues

Juova Hanahuone, Kaisaniemenkatu 3 b
Puistokatu 4, Puistokatu 4
Musiikkitalo, Mannerheimintie 13 A

With the following principles, we commit to making our spaces and events safer for everyone. Safe space means that everyone has the freedom to fully be themselves and participate in all activities without fear of scorn or discrimination. We understand that it isn’t possible to create a space that is completely safe for everyone, but it is vital for us to strive for that goal in all our actions.

• Everyone is treated equally and with respect. We intervene in any cases of discrimination, harassment or other unsuitable behavior. We do not accept racism, ableism or verbal or physical discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. When needed, the person behaving in an unsuitable manner will be removed from the space.
• We do not presume consent, but ask for it.
• Everyone has a right to self-determination. We do not generalize or make presumptions about anyone’s background, experiences, gender or sexuality.
• We understand that we come from different backgrounds, experiences, circumstances and that we can disagree on things. Still, we strive for respectful interactions.
• We acknowledge that all our spaces are not accessible for everyone. We develop the accessibility of our events.
• Our spaces and events are photographed. We inform the audience about this. If you do not want to be photographed, please let our staff know. If you take pictures in our events, please make sure that you have permission from the people who you are photographing.
• We are not perfect, and sometimes we fail. We encourage everyone to take responsibility for their words, actions and failures. Sometimes, an apology is necessary. 
• We promise to support you. In all our events, we have a dedicated person to whom you can report any harassment, discrimination or other unsuitable behavior. You can also give feedback about our events after the fact and anonymously through this form.
• You can give us feedback and suggestions for changes to these principles for safer space through an anonymous form here.

Pulpettikino is the festival’s film education project that offers kindergarteners, pupils and their teachers in Helsinki the opportunity to learn about film by participating in Finland’s largest film festival for free. We offer a festival visit for thousands of children each year.

Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy is an invitation-based festival, and we do not have an official submission process. We are a non-competitive festival outside of our National Competition for Finnish shorts. The festival films are selected by the programming team.

You are welcome to submit your film for the festival by filling out the form linked below. We cannot guarantee watching films submitted through the form. You can send us films of any length, but please note that we have a separate submission form for the National Competition for Finnish short films (link to the form can be found under National Competition on this page).

We will only contact you if your film is selected to the festival. If you do not hear from us by August 1, your film has not been selected to the programme this year.

The 39th Love & Anarchy Festival will take place 17–27 September 2026. The submission form is open until June 30.

You can submit your film by filling out the form through this link.

The submission for the 2026 competition is open from March 2 until May 15.

The submission for the R&A Shorts National Competition is open for fiction, documentary or animated films that are max. 30 minutes long. The production or co-production country of the film must be Finland. The competition line-up is selected by members of the Love & Anarchy Festival Ministry. An independent jury of professionals appointed by the festival will choose the winners. The competition is organised by the Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy association. All films selected for the competition will be screened as part of the 39th Love & Anarchy festival 17.–27.9.2026. 

The main prize is the R&A Shorts Award which is a monetary award. The Finnish Film Foundation’s New Wave Award will be given to a new talent whose short film represents the bright tomorrow of Finnish film. The purpose of the award is to support the professional career of a promising new filmmaker working with the short film format. Established in 2021 in collaboration with AMPI, the Moving People and Images Award is sponsored by the Finnish Film Foundation. It is given to a filmmaker whose work emphasises inclusion and diversity.

The Best Student Film Award is an accreditation to the Love & Anarchy festival and Finnish Film Affair industry event in 2027. Student films also compete for all the other prizes. In addition, all 2026 competition films will compete for the Audience Award, which is a product prize given to the director.

The national competition, which has been organized since 2018, presents a wide range of the high level of Finnish short films through professional and student works. In 2025, Sherwan Haji’s film My Name is Hope won the main prize.

Eligibility

• You can apply with a fiction, documentary or animation film that is maximum 30 min long. Music films are not eligible.
• The film was completed after the 1st of January 2025.
• Only completed films are eligible.
• Premiere status is not required.
• Finland must be the production or co-production country (Finnish production company/school involved or part of the funding from Finland).
• Entry form must include a preview link for the completed film (subtitles not mandatory in this version).
• The films selected to the competition must deliver the screening copy in DCP format with English subtitles (if not spoken in English).
• The festival does not pay screening fees for competition films.
• The film can be submitted only by the rights holder of the film who by submitting the film gives consent to a possible screening of the film in the competition. The selections are final and there is no short-list system in place.

Film submission

• There is no submission fee.
• Fill out the entry form carefully, information (credits, synopsis, film stills) entered into the form will be directly used in festival communications.
• A confirmation message for successfully submitting the form is automatically sent to the contact person’s email address.
• The submission form is open from 2 March until 15 May 2026 at 23:59.

Selected films

• The festival will notify all the entrants of their selection or non-selection by 26 June 2026. If selected, an email is sent to the addresses of the contact person and director/s. If not selected an email is sent to the address of the contact person.
• The films selected for the competition must deliver the screening copy in DCP by 14 August 2026.
• The competition line-up will be published in August at the festival’s website.

Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy Association reserves the right to make changes.

Apply here!

For more information, please contact:
Annu Suvanto, Film Programmer (R&A Shorts)
annu@hiff.fi
+358 50 364 3683

The application form for volunteer positions for the 2026 Love & Anarchy festival and industry event Finnish Film Affair is now closed. Thank you to all applicants, we will be in touch with everyone before the end of July.

We are still looking for photo- and videographers. Please contact Staff Producer Riikka Haapanen riikka@hiff.fi and include your portfolio or some examples of your work to the message.

R&A films coming to cinemas after the 2026 festival

Premiere 25.9.
The Secret Reading Club of Kabul (dir. Shakiba Adil, Elina Hirvonen)

Premiere 2.10.
La Grazia (dir. Paolo Sorrentino)
Homebound (dir.. Neeraj Ghaywan)

Premiere 9.10.
Two Seasons, Two Strangers (dir. Sho Miyake)

Premiere 30.10.
Dracula (dir. Radu Jude)

Premiere 6.11.
Beloved (dir. Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
Nightborn (dir. Hanna Bergholm)

Premiere 20.11.
La bola negra (dir. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo)
Hope (dir. Na Hong-jin)
Paper Tiger (dir. James Gray)
Dry Leaf (dir. Alexandre Koberidze)

Premiere 4.12.
No Rest for the Wicked (dir. Kasper “Kalle” Skovsbøl)

Premiere 11.12.
Earth Song (dir. Erol Mintaṣ)

Premiere 21.1.2027
Fjord (dir. Cristian Mungiu)

Premiere early 2027
The Diary of a Chambermaid (dir. Radu Jude)
Dao (dir. Alain Gomis)
The Day She Returns (dir. Hong Sang-soo)
La Gradiva (dir. Marine Atlas)

Premiere date not yet known
Her Private Hell (dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)
Full Phil (dir. Quentin Dupieux)
Hen (dir. György Pálfi)
The Devils (dir. Ken Russell)
Minotaur (dir. Andrei Zvjagintsev)
Nox (dir. Matti Harju)

The following films from the 2026 Love & Anarchy programme can be seen after the festival on our partner Yle’s channels and Yle Areena! Find up-to-date information about the films’ availability on Yle Areena.

Árru
Belzebubs
Earth Song
Fjord
fml – nuorten lyhärikokonaisuus
Kevlar Soul
Keinaan, mee takas Somaliaan
A Light That Never Goes Out
My Name Is Dingo
Nightborn
Solomamma