As part of the 39th Herceg Novi Film Festival – Montenegro Film Festival, the Forte Mare open-air stage will once again serve as a hub for top cinematic achievements and lovers of the seventh art.
In a unique setting under the stars, from August 23 to 27, the audience will have the opportunity to view a carefully selected program of new European and African films that deliver powerful messages, explore contemporary social themes, and raise important questions about human intimacy, dignity, and solidarity.
A special touch is given to the program by the Adriatic Audience Award (Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region) selection, which aims to promote regional and European cinematography and connect festival audiences across the region. The Network of Festivals in the Adriatic Region program is supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA sub-programme.
Additionally, the festival audience will have the chance to discover the richness of African cinematography through the New African Voices program. This program is realized by the Film Centre of Montenegro in cooperation with the International Organization of La Francophonie (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie – OIF), with the support of the Embassy of France and the French Institute in Montenegro.
The Forte Mare program opens on August 23 with the film Parallel Tales (France, 2026), the latest work by two-time Oscar winner and Cannes Film Festival winner, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. Featuring a top-tier cast led by Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel, and Catherine Deneuve, the film brings an exciting story about an author whose imagined fiction begins to overpower her reality.
On the same evening, the program features Life in a Beat (Život u ritmu, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, France, North Macedonia, Montenegro, 2025), the debut feature film by Greek director Amerissa Basta. This regional co-production, involving Montenegro, depicts a young girl’s struggle in Athens with poverty, a toxic environment, and an unexpected pregnancy, in search of her own independence.
At Forte Mare, we will also watch the youth action-comedy Gaja’s World 3 (Gaja’s World – Follow Me, Slovenia, 2025) by Slovenian director Peter Bratuša. The film follows 16-year-old Gaja as she navigates growing up, the challenges of first love, and changes in friendships following her parents’ divorce.
Adriatic Region Festival Network
Truly Naked (Istinski ogoljen), Netherlands, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, 2026 – The new work by Dutch director Muriel d’Ansembourg, premiered at the Berlinale. This emotional coming-of-age story follows a teenager raised in the shadow of his father’s porn business and his encounter with a rebellious girl that changes his view on intimacy and acceptance.
Hen (Kokoš), Germany, Greece, Hungary, 2025 – Directed by György Pálfi, one of the most significant contemporary Hungarian directors and a multiple festival winner. The film follows a hen’s escape from an industrial farm to an abandoned seaside restaurant, while a complex human drama about poverty and moral choices unfolds nearby.
Made in EU, Bulgaria, Germany, Czech Republic, 2025 – A socially conscious drama by celebrated Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev, whose films have been screened at Cannes and Karlovy Vary. The plot follows a garment factory worker in the Bulgarian provinces who becomes the first confirmed Covid case in her town, surviving collective fear, stigmatization, and rejection.
Black Money for White Nights (Crni novac za bijele noći), Bulgaria, Greece, 2026 – The latest film by Bulgarian directing duo Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov. Through a blend of black humor and realism, the film portrays a married couple who lose their savings in a tourist scam, where the search for money brings old family lies and betrayals to the surface.
Only Beautiful Things to Look At (Vidim samo lijepe stvari), Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, 2026 – The new film by Slovak auteur Ivan Ostrochovský. Set in Czechoslovakia in the mid-1980s, this poignant drama explores the legacy of forced sterilization of Roma women through the story of a relationship between a doctor and a Roma nurse, raising questions of personal responsibility and systemic oppression.
New African Voices
Promised Sky (Obećano nebo), France, Tunisia, Qatar, 2025 – This touching drama is directed by French-Tunisian director Erige Sehiri, whose previous film Under the Fig Trees was Tunisia’s Oscar candidate. The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the official Un Certain Regard selection, follows the lives of three women in Tunisia whose solidarity is tested by the arrival of an orphaned girl.
Congo Boy, Central African Republic, France, DR Congo, Italy, 2026 – The debut feature film by young director Rafiki Fariala, whose documentary We, Students! was awarded at the Berlinale. The story follows 17-year-old Robert from Bangui who dreams of a music career in a war-torn country, forced to care for his younger siblings while his parents are in prison.
The complete program at the Forte Mare fortress is available here
As part of the New African Voices program, the new work by prominent French-Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch, Everybody Loves Touda (Svi vole Tudu, Morocco, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, 2024), will be screened at Dvorana Park on August 27. This moving drama follows Touda, a traditional Moroccan performer who, through songs of resistance and emancipation, tries to fight for artistic recognition in Casablanca and a better future for her son.
