First and second-time Directors are yet again set to compete for top honours at this years festival. Twelve films from around the world will vie for the coveted Transylvania Trophy and other accolades in the Official Competition, while ten works will compete for the top prize in the What's Up, Doc? section. Those films in Official Competition are as given, in brief, below :-
* 'Feels Like Home' - from Hungary and Directed by Gabor Holtai. A claustrophobic debut in which family functions as the amniotic fluid required to force a human being into existence.
* 'Le Roi Soleil' ('No One Will Know') - from France and Directed by Vincent Mael Cardona. A slick, high-concept collision of heist movie and slasher, centred on a winning lottery ticket and driven by the kind of greed that can only end badly.
* 'Lionel' - from Spain and Directed by Carlos Saiz. An experiment on both sides of the lens - a road movie built around a script the cast never saw, yet one that arrives at a universal truth about fathers and sons.
* 'The Night is Fading Away' - from Argentina and Directed by Ezequiel Salinas and Ramiro Sonzini. A bittersweet love letter to cinema, in which a displaced projectionist takes a job as a night watchman at a cinema and gradually builds an unlikely community around old films;
* 'Truly Naked' - from the Netherlands and Directed by Muriel d’Ansembourg. The film makes nudity and sex matter-of-fact, then pivots to the harder question - whether shedding your clothes is the same as opening yourself up.
* 'Titanic Ocean' - from Greece and Directed by Konstantina Kotzamani. The film follows young women training to become professional mermaids in a world that never stops demanding reinvention.
* 'The Night is Fading Away' - from Argentina and Directed by Ezequiel Salinas and Ramiro Sonzini. A bittersweet love letter to cinema, in which a displaced projectionist takes a job as a night watchman at a cinema and gradually builds an unlikely community around old films;
* 'Titanic Ocean' - from Greece and Directed by Konstantina Kotzamani. The film follows young women training to become professional mermaids in a world that never stops demanding reinvention.
* 'Butterfly' - from Norway and Directed by Itonje Soimer Guttormsen. The story tracks two sisters working through the long shadow of a guru mother, with self-knowledge serving as the film’s uneasy currency.
* 'Our Father' - from Serbia and Directed by Goran Stankovic. The film examines the cult of a surrogate patriarch at a Serbian monastery for recovering addicts, and the difficulty of dismantling something that can’t be entirely condemned.
* 'The Red Hangar' - from Chile and Directed by Juan Pablo Sallato. A lean, pressure-cooker thriller about honour and duty during the Pinochet coup, remarkable for how much it achieves with limited means.
For a summary of the ten films in the Documentary Official Competition, plus the details of all the other films being showcased, and a whole lot of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : http://www.tiff.ro/en
'DISCLOSURE DAY' (Rated M) - is an American Science Fiction film that is based on an original story, Co-Produced and Directed by Steven Spielberg, who I'm sure needs no introduction. Spielberg is no stranger to the world of Sci-Fi having helmed 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' in 1977, then 'E.T.' in 1982, 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence' in 2001, 'Minority Report' in 2002, 'War of the Worlds' in 2005 and 'Ready Player One' in 2018. This film is released in the US this week too. 
If you found out we weren’t alone in the infinite universe, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? When cybersecurity expert Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) and Kansas City meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) discover proof of alien life simultaneously, they try to reveal the truth to the world all at once, while facing intense government secrecy. Also starring Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson and Wyatt Russell.
'TUNER' (Rated MA15+) - this USA and Canadian Co-Produced crime thriller film is Co-Written and Directed by Daniel Roher in his debut narrative fiction film following his documentaries 'Once Were Brothers : Robbie Robertson and the Band' in 2019 and the Academy Award winning 'Navalny' in 2022, and 'The AI Doc : Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist' which Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January this year and is scheduled for release later on in 2026. Niki White (Leo Woodall) a gifted young piano tuner whose heightened sense of hearing draws the attention of Israeli criminals, who see his talents as useful for opening safes as well as for tuning Steinways. With his once-promising musical career over, he works across New York with his mentor Harry Horowitz (Dustin Hoffman), encountering a range of characters, including composition student Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), with whom he forges an unexpected connection. Niki's safecracking work threatens his budding romance with Ruthie and pulls him into increasingly dangerous territory. Also starring Jean Reno, Lior Raz and Tovah Feldshuh. The film had its World Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in late August last year, was released in the US towards the end of May, has garnered generally positive critical acclaim, and has so far recouped US$5M at the Box Office from its US$7M production budget outlay.
'TRIFOLE' (Rated M) - is an Italian adventure drama film Co-Written and Directed by Gabriele Fabbro in his second feature film outing following 2021's 'The Grand Bolero' although he has helmed numerous short films and the occasional documentary. A modern fable about truffles, sustainability and family. Trifole, set in the Alba, Piedmont White Truffle region of Italy, tells the adventure of a young woman, Dalia (Ydalie Turk) who leaves London looking for her own path, and who reconnects with her ailing, truffle-hunting grandfather Igor (Umberto Orsini) and nature. Eventually, she bonds with her grandfather and learns to value tradition, the territory, and a more sustainable way of life. The film was released in its native Italy in mid-October 2024, in the USA in mid-October 2025 and only now does it get a limited release here in Australia, having so far grossed US$77K from a production budget of US$1.6M, and has generated largely favourable reviews.
'PRIMAVERA' (Rated M) - this Italian and French drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Damiano Michieletto in his feature filmmaking debut, and is based on the 2008 novel 'Stabat Mater' by Tiziano Scarpa. Early in the 18th century, Ospedale della Pieta is the biggest orphanage in Venice, but it is also where the most talented of the orphans who live there are introduced to the study of music. A talented violinist, Cecilia (Tecla Insolia), confined to the orphanage, meets Antonio Vivaldi (Michele Riondino) who becomes her teacher. Under his mentorship and through his music, she gains courage to break free from the life she was destined for and pursue her passion. The film saw its World Premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September last year and was released in Italy on Christmas Day last year, and has generated largely positive critical press.
'HOW TO TALK AUSTRALIANS' (Rated M) - is an Australian comedy film Co-Written and Directed by Tony Rogers who made his feature film debut with 'Rats and Cats' in 2007 and has Directed multiple episodes of TV series in the intervening years. This his second feature, tells the story of a group of Indian students and teachers from The Delhi College of Linguistics who leave the classroom and head Down Under to discover Australia and gain first-hand experience of its authentic language and culture. When their plane is diverted to the country town of Dubbo due to storms, and their tour-leader is detained by customs, the hapless bunch unearth the ‘real’ Australia while never making it to Sydney, Melbourne . . . or even Brisbane. Starring Shane Jacobson, Stephen Curry, Esha Banavali, Rohan Ganju and Udara David. The film cost in the region of US$1.5M to produce.
'COLONY' (Rated MA15+) - this South Korean action horror film is Co-Written and Directed by Yeon Sang-ho who made his feature length debut with the animated 'The King of Pigs' in 2011, and which he would follow up with another animated feature 'The Fake' in 2013. His first live action feature was the acclaimed 'Train to Busan' in 2016, which was followed by the adult animated zombie horror 'Seoul Station' as a prequel that same year. His second live action film was 'Psychokinesis' in 2018, then 'Peninsula' in 2020, 'JUNG_E' in 2023, 'Revelations' in 2025 and 'The Ugly' also in 2025. A biotechnology professor, Kwon Se-jeong (Jun Ji-hyun), is in attendance at a biotech conference that erupts into chaos with the release of a rapidly mutating virus. The outbreak results in the transformation of infected individuals, prompting authorities to seal off the facility and trap survivors inside with an escalating threat. The film Premiered in the Midnight Screenings section of the Cannes Film Festival in mid-May this year, was released in its native South Korea on 21st May, cost in the region of US$12M to produce having so far grossed US$32M, and has received mixed or average reviews.
'JACK JOHNSON : SURFILMUSIC' (Rated PG) - is an American biographical documentary film Directed by Emmett Malloy who has Directed numerous music videos for acclaimed recording artists, including Jack Johnson, and a number of feature length films including 'Out Cold' in 2001, the musical doco 'Big Easy Express' in 2012, 'The Tribes of Palos Verdes' in 2017, and the music doco 'Biggie : I Got a Story to Tell' in 2021. This film chronicles Jack Johnson’s evolution from surfer to filmmaker to world-renowned musician. It traces how Jack’s early years making surf films with close friends became a foundation for a much broader creative life, capturing moments in and out of the water that later surfaced in his songwriting. Blending rare footage from those formative surf films and Jack’s personal and family archives with present-day reflections, the film weaves together how lived experience, friendship, and exploration shaped the sound and stories behind the music.
Drawing the attention then back to this weeks seven hot new release movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we kick off with a Sci-Fi offering from a Director who is a master of his craft, and that films tag line is 'If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?' - enough said! Then we have a crime thriller in which a talented piano tuner's meticulous skills for tuning pianos lead him to discover an unexpected aptitude for cracking safes, turning his life upside down. Next up is an Italian adventure drama film in which a young woman travels to Piedmont to care for her ageing grandfather, an expert truffle forager. This is followed by another Italian drama film set in early 18th century Venice, Italy, where the fate of a virtuoso violinist is transferred when her orphanage hires an ambitious composer as the new musical instructor, one Antonio Vivaldi. In a completely different vein, we have next an Aussie comedy in which a group of students and teachers from a Language school in Delhi hit the road to discover Australia and gain first-hand experience of its authentic culture and language. Then we turn to a South Korean action horror film which follows a deadly, rapidly mutating viral outbreak inside a quarantined biotech facility; before closing out the week with an American biographical musical film charting the life and times of this man from surfer to filmmaker to world-renowned musician.
Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the seven latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.
With seven new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
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