The 18th Ulaanbaatar International Film Festival (UBIFF) will take place from 16 until 22 October, 2026, in Ulaanbaatar.
The festival’s mission is to bring a curated selection of new and outstanding films, shaping contemporary world cinema, including and in conversations with Mongolian films; to support local filmmakers and continue the growth of the Mongolian film industry; to continue Ulaanbaatar’s historic and internationally regarded legacy as a city for filmmaking to both domestic and international audiences; and to contribute to our society, economy, arts and cultural sector, and education.
This year the festival will screen a total of 18 films at Tengis Cinema. UBIFF’s Early Falcon Pass is available through ticket.mn until 1 October, and single tickets can be purchased at Tengis Cinema. The full festival program is available at www.ubiff.mn and on www.facebook.com/UBIFF.
The 18th Ulaanbaatar International Film Festival will comprise of; opening ceremony and opening film, the Mongolian Film Program (New Mongolian films), the New Horizon Section (Classic Mongolian films), the International Film Section, the Documentary Film Section, Industry Day (sector focused), and the Garuda Mongolian Film Competition Awards Ceremony.
The festival’s opening film is Fjord, directed by Cristian Mungiu, the Palme d’Or winner of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, which will be screened at both Skywing and Tengis cinemas.
Five films selected out of the sixteen submissions to the Mongolian Film Competition will be screened under the Mongolian Film Program. Winners across six categories, awarded amongst all participating filmmakers, will be announced at the Garuda Awards ceremony on October 22, 2026.
The New Horizon Section brings Mongolia’s classic and celebrated works back to the big screen for today’s audiences as well as honoring our pioneering filmmakers. This year is dedicated to Nyamgavaa Ichinkhorloo, State Honored Art Figure of Mongolia, theater and film director and screenwriter. The feature film Precious One (1986), based on writer Myagmar Dembee’s play of the same name, for which I.Nyamgavaa wrote the screenplay and directed, along with Five Fingers of a Hand (1983), based on writer Lodoidamba Chadraabal’s play of the same name, for which I.Nyamgavaa wrote the screenplay and co-directed with director Baljinnyam Begz, will each receive a single screening at Tengis Cinema on October 17.
The International Film Section and Documentary Film Section will present eleven films from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Austria, Romania, Norway, Japan, China, Finland and Montenegro. Highlights include Fatherland by Paweł Pawlikowski, winner of the Best Director award at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival; Parallel Tales by Asghar Farhadi, which competed at Cannes; Rose, which competed for the Golden Bear at the Berlinale; the debut feature films by emerging directors, including the anime We Are Aliens by Kadowaki Kohei, along with A Girl Unknown by Zou Jing and Primavera by Damiano Michieletto; and All the Lovers in the Night by Sode Yukiko, adapted from the novel of the same name by Japanese author Kawakami Mieko.
Our Industry Day will support Mongolian filmmakers by being a platform for gathering and discussion. This year’s focus is on documentary filmmaking. Guests will include Estonian producer Pille Rünk (Allfilm), South Korean producer and director Ally Sunhee Han (Busan Asian Film School, AFiS), and Slovak director Tomáš Krupa. Krupa’s documentary We Have to Survive will also be presented. The film follows how communities in Australia, the United States and Greenland are adapting to climate change, alongside the story of the late Demchigiin Baraaduuz, who has grown trees and created an oasis in the middle of Gobi desert in Mongolia.
The festival will also launch the third edition of FilmNomad, an international film development lab for Mongolian filmmakers. Thirty filmmakers will be selected for the opportunity to develop their projects internationally, present to major film funds and distributors, and pursue participation in international film festivals. Over the nine-month program, the three top-ranked projects will earn the right to pitch their work at Berlinale and Locarno film Festival.
We warmly invite film enthusiasts to the Ulaanbaatar International Film Festival.
