From April 21 to 25, 2026, the tranquil town of Brugg will once again be all about fantastic cinema. Four screening locations await you: Excelsior Grand, Excelsior Suite, the Odeon and now also the Salzhaus concert and event venue, where a fourth screening location will be built during the festival days. Festival passes are available until the end of the year at a special price of 144 francs instead of 199 francs. In order to shorten the waiting time until the full program is released on April 1, 2026, we are already presenting you the season special program with five thematically appropriate films and three first highlights from the Official Selection.
The world is tumbling. Autocrats govern, democracies crumble, tech-bro billionaires stylize themselves as saviors — and in doing so touch the foundations of our society. The situation is serious. Perhaps too serious. But this is exactly where the resistance starts. With humor. With attitude. With imagination. With stories that make the threatening visible — and counteract it.
Film, and in particular fantastic cinema, have always been a mouthpiece against injustice and a medium for addressing grievances. With stories that exaggerate, stir up, rebel. And remind ourselves: We are not doomed. Yet!
The Bad Batch, USA, 2016, Ana Lily Amirpour. In a post-apocalyptic desert, “undesirables” are banished behind fences to no man's land. Right in the middle is Arlen, a young woman who soon lacks an arm and a leg — and yet survives. A rebellion against neoliberalism.
El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth), Spain, 2006, Guillermo Del Toro. Childhood fantasy and brutal reality intertwine when young Ofelia and her pregnant mother travel to the countryside to meet her new father, a captain in the Franco dictatorship. A rebellion against fascism with imagination and imagination.
Hobo with a Shotgun, CA, 2011, Jason Eisener. A hobo dreams of owning a lawnmower and a new life in Hopetown. However, the crime boss Drake rules there and terrorizes the population with his sons, corrupt policemen and murder squads. An uprising against corrupt dictators.
They Live, USA, 1988, John Carpenter. John Nada is homeless and looking for work. Instead of the American Dream, he finds sunglasses somewhere on the outskirts of Los Angeles. When he pulls them on, he suddenly sees the truth — humanity is being influenced by aliens and the rich. A rebellion against involuntary brainwashing.
Total Recall, USA, 1990, Paul Verhoeven. Construction worker Douglas needs a vacation. But instead of going on an expensive trip to a faraway planet, he opts for a virtual vacation trip to Mars — in the role of a secret agent. That goes really wrong and we're on to the fight for survival. A confrontation with overpowering large corporations.
The BRUGGGORE Film Festival shows around 50 international feature films over five days, five of them as part of the “Official Competition”. The winning film is chosen by the audience. 5,000 francs in prize money and the “Eye of the Beholder” award will be presented to the director of the winning film as a highlight at the festival awards ceremony. In order to shorten the waiting time until the full program is published on April 1, 2026, we are presenting three titles from the “Official Selection”.
Karmadonna, Serbia, 2025, Aleksandar Radivojevic. Karmadonna is the debut film by Aleksandar Radivojevic, enfant terrible of Serbian filmmaking and author of the controversial A SERBIAN FILM. His first directorial work isn't quite as borderline — but here, too, you need a stable stomach flora and deep black humor.
Omukade, Thailand, 2025, Chalit Krileadmongkon, Pakphum Wongjinda. During World War II, Japanese soldiers and their prisoners of war build a railway line in Thailand. In doing so, they wake up an old, legendary centipede-like monster in a mountain. The stuff nightmares are made of!
Queens of the Dead, USA, 2025, Tina Romero. Instead of a planned pompous drag show in Brooklyn, there is a glamorous carnage. In order to survive, personal differences must be overcome and high heels must become murder weapons. Tina Romero, daughter of zombie legend George A. Romero, will make the splatter fans very happy with her feature film debut.
Following the great success of the first short film block at the BRUGGGORE Film Festival 2025, the range of short films 2026 will be expanded in cooperation with the Winterthur International Short Film Festival.
