Raindance Sets Full 34th Edition Lineup, Adds Best Horror Feature Prize as Festival Expands Competition Slate

The 34th Raindance Film Festival has unveiled its complete program, with 85 narrative and documentary features, 112 short films and 27 immersive projects set for the June 17–26 run in London. Forty-eight of the features – 56% of the total – come from first-time directors, and a new best horror feature prize has been added to the jury competition for 2026.

The full feature slate spans material on topics including the Southport riots, fracking in West Texas, the Rohingya refugee crisis, bride slavery in India, artificial intelligence and the deforestation of Canada’s Boreal Forest. International competition titles include the world premieres of Mexican coming-of-age mystery “Jardines Del Bosque,” Iranian pandemic drama “No Lastname” and debut Estonian feature “Fränk,” from Tönis Pill, assistant director on Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” alongside U.K. premieres of Venice-awarded “Lost Land” and Indian narrative feature “Paro: The Untold Story of Bride Slavery,” produced by two-time Oscar-listed producer Trupti Bhoir.

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Documentary competition highlights include “Gaslit,” executive produced by Jane Fonda, which follows the activist across oil fields in West Texas and Louisiana; “Ghost in the Machine,” which premiered at Sundance and examines the origins of artificial intelligence; and “Copeland,” a world premiere portrait of Stewart Copeland, drummer of English rock band The Police.

The horror sidebar, newly eligible for its own jury prize, includes “Corporate Retreat,” starring Odeya Rush, Sasha Lane, Alan Ruck, Ashton Sanders and Rosanna Arquette; Robert Englund-led Pinocchio reimagining “Pinocchio: Unstrung”; Māori-inflected supernatural chiller “Broken Beak,” an international premiere from New Zealand; and slasher-comedy “Friday the 69th.”

The festival’s Oscar-qualifying short film program features the directorial debut of actor Kit Harington, the black comedy “Psychopomp,” starring Harry Melling; “Joke,” a tribute to late British comedy writer Barry Cryer featuring Judi Dench, Stephen Fry, Alison Steadman and Harry Hill; and BAFTA-winning comedian Joe Lycett’s “Dating Mark Silcox.” Among the international short titles, “Pankaja” and “Stairs” both carry Sundance nominations, while Palestinian documentary “Free Fish,” filmed in Gaza, closes the strand.

This year’s jury includes actors Jacob Anderson (“Interview with the Vampire,” “Game of Thrones”), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“Match Point”), Aimee-Ffion Edwards (“Slow Horses”), Sope Dirisu (“Gangs of London”), Charlotte Hope (“The Spanish Princess”) and David Ajala (“The Woman in Cabin 10”), alongside Fiona Lamptey, a producer and former head of U.K. features at Netflix.

Canon Europe returns as main sponsor. The Canon Lounge at One Ninetyfour on Piccadilly will serve as the industry hub, hosting a cinematography masterclass and an AI-assisted short film screening in partnership with CapCut. The 11th Raindance Immersive presents 27 XR projects online in VRChat from June 12 through June 25, with an in-person showcase at the Canon Lounge from June 23–25.

As previously announced, the festival will open with the U.K. premiere of Michel K. Parandi’s sci-fi thriller “April X,” starring Connor Storrie (“Heated Rivalry”) and close with the European premiere of Kirsty Bell’s documentary “Eddie Cochran: Don’t Forget Me.”

“Some films can’t wait,” Raindance founder Elliot Grove said, “and we at Raindance can’t wait to share this year’s selection of must-see indie films. With the return of our main sponsor Canon Europe, Raindance has an even greater capacity to champion emerging filmmakers along with under-the-radar films that other festivals may overlook. So don’t wait on the sidelines, come join our celebration of indie cinema in the heart of London.”