Pattaya International Film Festival 2026 Official Selection

The Pattaya International Film Festival proudly unveils its 2026 Official Selection, presenting 52 exceptional films from 28 countries across one unforgettable week on Thailand's luminous shores.

The program features 7 feature films and 45 short films, celebrating the diversity of world cultures and the next generation of cinematic voices. From Brazil to Bulgaria- from Cuba to Kyrgyzstan- from Iceland to Thailand- this year's Official Selection brings together acclaimed storytellers and rising filmmakers whose work reflects the richness, creativity, and humanity of contemporary world cinema.

Feature Films (7)

Papaya

Brazil | 2026 | 74 min. | Priscilla Kellen

An ecological tale about the cycle of life, following a seed of papaya who goes through an environmental and inner journey to discover the power of her roots and of her transformation.

The Birthday Party 

Greece | 2025 | 100 min. | Miguel Ángel Jimenéz

Markos Timoleon (Willem Dafoe), an Onassis-like Greek tycoon, is celebrating his daughter’s 25th birthday on his private island. There, he will face an unpredictable chain of events that will threaten his dominance and shake his very existence.

Tristan Forever

Switzerland | 89 min. | Tobias Nölle, Loran Bonnardot

For 30 yrs, a doctor from Paris maintained a friendship to a fisherman from Tristan da Cunha, the world's most isolated, inhabited island. Now he travels back one more time, planning to stay for good.

Mergen 

Kyrgyzstan | 2025 | 105 min. | Chingiz Narynov

In a remote Kyrgyz town where gold mining and poaching rule, an investigator’s inherited visions reveal a dark connection between a poacher kingpin, a murdered girl, and a deadly conspiracy to control an abandoned gold mine.

Melt 

Austria | 2025 | 127 min. | Nikolaus Geyrhalter

Nikolaus Geyrhalter's new film immerses audiences in a world of white. MELT is the story of the individuals who inhabit this world and their homes – and of the gradual disappearance of the ice that was once assumed to be eternal.

Chimney Town: Frozen in Time

Japan | 2026 | 98 min.  | Yusuke HIROTA

Pining for his vanished friend, the boy Lubicchi falls into a world where time has stopped—and must uncover its hidden past to make it move again.

Heals 

Thailand | 2025 | 102 min. | Pailin Wedel

Behind the lashes, laughter, and larger-than-life performances of Pangina Heals lies Pan Pan Narkprasert—a queer Thai artist who transformed pain into power. This film traces his path from inner turmoil to international stardom, culminating in a groundbreaking Las Vegas drag residency.

Short Films (45)

Organized by category, details to come:

Narrative Shorts (5)

Title | Director | Country

Yonne | Julietta Korbel, Yan Ciszewski | Switzerland

What do you seek in the dark? | Tossaphon Riantong | Thailand

SightNotSeeing | Sheungman Yim | Hong Kong

FLOCK | Mac Nixon | United Kingdom

Forever Running through my Dreams | Clothilde Carenco | France

Documentary Shorts (6)

Title | Director | Country

Dick's-A-Thon | Dylan Young | United States

The Knights of NYC | Jesse Smolan | United States

Chasing Whales | Zoe Anne Rosenblum, Matthew Busch | United States

Too Disgusting To Be Confused | Maya Avidov | United Kingdom

Sueña Ahora | Gabriele Licchelli, Francesco Lorusso, Andrea Settembrini | Cuba, Italy

A Small Fiction of My Mother in Beijing | Dorothea Zhang | China

Animation Shorts (19)

Title | Director | Country

Penguin | Kaspar Jancis | Estonia

TIME | Robert Löbel, Max Mörtl | Germany

Rita | Francesca Colombara | Italy

Snake Soup | Zack Demirtshyan | Armenia

Christo The Civilized Barbarian | Shaddy Safadi | United States

The Motherless Egg | Elena Walf | Croatia, Germany

Sulaimani | Vinnie Ann Bose | France

Backstreet Birds | Gertrūda Nemčauskaitė | Lithuania

The Garden | Carolina Charadán, Miguel Machado | Canada, Cuba, Mexico

Balconada | Iva Tokmakchieva | Bulgaria

Ziki | Roberta Palmieri, Olga Sargenti | Italy

9 Million Colors | Bára Anna | Germany, Norway

Desi Oon | Suresh Eriyat | India

Adgwa-Ata | Zsuzsanna Kreif | France, Hungary

Acid City | Jack Wedge, Will Freudenheim | United States

Piccolo Piccolo | Marta Gennari | France, Switzerland

The Legend of the Hummingbird | Morgan Devos | France

Duet | Leo Brunel | France

Cycle or Bicycle | Roxane Campoy | France

Student Films - Various Genres (5)

Title | Director | Country

When The Tide Comes | Fêt-Nat Bailly | United Kingdom

Fjallferǒ | Jesse Elliott Erwitt Smolan, Ollie Maine Smith, Josh Mitchell, Jimayu Fairmont | Iceland, United States

Tumbleweed | Johanna BOUAOUICHE, Louis CREUZET, Marie HAREUX, Wilson HINH, Arthus MARIET, Masha MORAN | France

Marc Page and the round goat cheese | Nacim Khemakhem, Anna Wang, Louna Coulot, Margot De Buyser, Sam Geyer, Emma Vaucher, Léa Atlan | France

Langue de Chat | Sarah Legras-Marie, Alexia Monnier, Timothée Beauville, Sibylle Bank De Loof, Cindy Ly, Assia Le Tellier, Al Charvet | France

Music Videos (4)

Title | Director | Country

Nap Eyes - Dark Mystery Enigma Bird | Jordan Minkoff | Canada

Flowers | Mathieu Labaye | Belgium

IDLU | Lars Zimmermann, Paulina Wetzel | Germany

Berzingue | Ewan Rosenstrauch, Cecile Montanes | France

Chinese Language Short Program (6)

Title | Director | Country

12 Moments Before the Flag-Raising Ceremony | Zhizheng QU | China

Car | Mengfei Li | United Kingdom

A Taste of Beer | Xie Li | China

Taming Phenomena | Shunyuan Yao | China

Sojourn to Shangri-la | Lin Yihan | China

The Poison Cat | Tian Guan | China