The 22nd Zurich Film Festival came to a close after eleven days of cinema, international stars and new discoveries. Under the motto “Dream Big”, the 2026 edition welcomed 135,000 visitors and significantly expanded its international reach.
Hollywood once again came to Zurich, with Julianne Moore, Naomi Watts, John Turturro, Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoeamong the prominent guests attending premieres, talks and award ceremonies.
One of the festival’s major honorees was Julianne Moore, who received the Golden Icon Award and presented The Debut, her second collaboration with actor and director Jesse Eisenberg. Moore praised Eisenberg’s intelligence, humor, humanity and originality, describing the project as one of the best experiences of her career.
Naomi Watts was honored with the Golden Eye Award and introduced her new film The Housewife, based on true events. The actress spoke about the challenge of portraying a complex character and expressed her gratitude for being able to continue taking on demanding roles.
John Turturro was another of this year’s celebrated guests, reflecting on a career dedicated to interesting work that can make audiences both laugh and think.
The festival opened with the European premiere of Tenzing, attended by Willem Dafoe. Speaking about the film, Dafoe highlighted his fascination with stories of people who challenge themselves and praised director Jennifer Peedom’s deep knowledge of mountaineering and its culture.
Beyond its star power, ZFF continued its focus on emerging filmmakers. 14 films competed in each of the festival’s two main competition sections, with the Golden Eye accompanied by a CHF 25,000 prize. Pierre le Gall’s Flesh and Fuelwon the Feature Film Competition, while Pete Muller’s Bucks Harbor took the top prize in the Documentary Film Competition.
With major premieres, established Hollywood names, emerging talent and a strong platform for Swiss cinema, the 22nd edition reinforced Zurich’s place on the international film festival calendar.
The 23rd Zurich Film Festival will take place from 23 September to 3 October 2027.
