Rochester International Film Festival 2026 Details

A unique event is happening in Rochester, MN this weekend. Starting Thursday and going through Sunday, you can see some incredible movies made from all around the world at the Rochester International Film Festival.

It's in collaboration with the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, which is also taking place this weekend.

ALSO READ: Sargent's Announces Dates and Lineup for 2026 Smooth Summer Nights

Rochester International Film Festival

This is the 29th year of the RIFF. The showings will be hosted at Pop's Art Theater, with the first movie on the evening of Thursday, April 9th and the last moving on the evening of Sunday, April 12th.

From my brief read through of the synopsis's of the movies, each are different, I wouldn't say any one is like the other, which is really cool!

Not all of the movies are in English. One is in French, one is in Spanish, another in Finnish. I'll make note of the language when we go through the films being shown.

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Each movie will be shown once and the tickets are $10.81 per person per movie. After the movie, you'll be given the chance to rate the movie and the favorite movies will be announced after the festival is over.

Alright, let's get into the movies that will be appearing at the 2026 Rochester International Film Festival.

2026 Rochester International Film Festival Showings

100 Liters of Gold
Thursday, April 9th - 7 PM
Language: Finnish

In this raucous black comedy, middle-aged sisters Taina and Pirkko are famous sahti-makers from Sysmä. Sahti is a strong beer made the same way as 500 years ago. When their younger sister plans her wedding and asks them to provide the traditional beverage, the batch they create is so good, they drink it all themselves. With the wedding day approaching, they have only 24 hours to find 100 liters of good sahti.

The Last Viking
Friday, April 10th - 7 PM
Language: Danish, Swedish

Anker is a robber, freshly out of the slammer. And he’s got a secret: he gave the loot to his brother, Manfred, to hide. Turns out Manfred buried it in a very secret place. One problem: Manfred has dissociative identity disorder, thinks he’s John Lennon, and doesn’t have a clue what Anker is talking about. Oscar-winning director Anders Thomas Jensen’s newest black comedy features Mads Mikkelsen in a tour-de-force comic performance as Manfred.

Calle Malaga
Saturday, April 11th - 2 PM
Language: Spanish, Arabic

María Ángeles, a 79-year-old woman, happily lives alone in Tangier, enjoying her sunny city on the Mediterranean. When her newly divorced daughter arrives from Madrid to sell her apartment, María finds a way to stay in her community, and in the process, she re-examines her life and falls in love.

The Soundman
Saturday, April 11th - 4:30 PM
Language: Dutch

Known for directing quirky dramedies such as Mannekin Pis and Villa des Roses and producing The Brand New Testament, writer-director Frank Van Passel brings his unique sensibility to portray the team at a Brussels radio station on the eve of the German invasion of Belgium in 1940. This tragi-comic look at the crossed destinies of a youthful sound engineer and a talented Jewish actress affirms the human capacity for invention.

Everybody to Kenmure Street
Saturday, April 11th - 7 PM
Language: English, Urdu, Punjabi

In May 2021 in Glasgow, on the first morning of Eid, Scottish immigration enforcement detained two men in the largely Muslim neighborhood of Pollokshields. Through an incredible communication network in the city, neighbors and concerned residents flood Kenmure Street to surround the vehicle and face off against authoritarianism. One protester even crawled beneath the detaining vehicle to prevent it from departing, and remained there for over 8 hours. Over 2,000 people showed up over the course of the day to record and disrupt the proceedings, sending a message to the very conservative U.K. Home Office. A stark reminder of the horrors that a government can inflict on the most vulnerable and an uplifting look at exactly what people can do to stop it, Everybody to Kenmure Street is a stunning documentary, not without humor, in the great tradition of anti-fascist filmmaking.

Source to Sea: A Winter Migration + The Zastava Brothers
Sunday, April 12th - 2 PM
Language: English

Cory Maria Dack, an Indigenous Latina wilderness guide, paddles the entire length of the Mississippi River, from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico, over 134 days. Born in Quito, Ecuador and raised in northern Minnesota, Cory approaches the river not as something to be conquered, but as a living, relational being.
Guided by Indigenous teachings, ceremony, and song, the film reframes wilderness adventure through a decolonized lens, centering humility, reciprocity, and listening. Along the river’s shifting landscapes, Cory reflects on identity, belonging, and environmental justice, challenging stereotypes about who belongs in nature.

Colors of Time
Sunday, April 12th - 4 PM
Language: French

When four distant cousins inherit a 19th Century home in Normandy, they decide to visit the place and examine their family history. No one has lived in the place since the 1940s, and the cousins are intrigued by all of the items they find there, little things that help them to understand their ancestor, Adèle Vermillard. Jumping back and forth in time, they meet the mysterious Adèle, whose bohemian lifestyle, and her friendship with the leading artists of the time, changes their lives. Cédric Klapisch‘s endearing new comedy is nothing less than a soul-stirring, time-traveling – at times, hallucinogenic – trip for lovers of the arts everywhere.

The Cycle of Love
Sunday, April 12th - 6:30 PM
Language: English

Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia, or P.K., is a portraitist in Delhi. Growing up in a small town, he left for the big city to follow his dreams. Anne-Charlotte von Schedvin, Lotta, is from Borås, Sweden and has come to India on vacation. They fall in love, but she has to return home.

That’s the usual story, but PK has believed, from a young age, that he was destined to meet his life partner, and Lotta is the one–their very short time together made them fall deeply in love. Lotte promised to return soon, but as the time stretches on, PK decides to bike to Sweden, over 6,000 miles, to be with the woman he loves. Orlando von Einsiedel’s astonishing documentary seems like the stuff of frankly unbelievable fiction, but it’s all true, and it will melt your heart.