FICA 2026: Wang Bing to Chair the Jury of the 32nd Edition

From January 27 to February 3, 2026, the International Festival of Asian Cinema (FICA) in Vesoul invites audiences to discover nearly 90 films from 24 Asian countries. Jury President Wang Bing will receive an Honorary Golden Cyclo Award at the opening ceremony.

Established in 1995 with the aim of promoting Asian cinemas, FICA returns for its 32nd edition from January 27 to February 3, 2026, in Vesoul. Supported by the French National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC), this year’s festival will be chaired by Chinese filmmaker Wang Bing, who will head the international jury. An Honorary Golden Cyclo Award will be presented to him in recognition of his lifetime achievements at the opening ceremony, held at the Théâtre Edwige Feuillère on January 27. The ceremony will be followed by the premiere screening of The Konbini Girl by Ishibashi Yuho.

The official selection comprises 87 films, including 40 premieres, from 24 different Asian countries, organized into several sections. “Faces of Contemporary Asian Cinemas” is dedicated to fiction and documentary competitions, featuring 18 films from China, Korea, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Palestine, Vietnam, and more, many of which are French, European, or international premieres. Among the documentaries in competition, which aims to foster dialogue between East and West, are French co-productions such as Khmerica by Thibaut Amri, Antoine Guide, and Lucas Sénécault (supported by the CNC) and Li Chevalier, Ink and Soul by Bernard Louargant.

Four premieres will also be featured to support the distribution of films with limited access in France, particularly in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region: The President’s Cake by Hasan Hadi (Iraq), The Konbini Girl by Ishibashi Yuho (Japan) as the opening film, The Mango Tree Flowers by Fujimoto Akio (Japan/Bangladesh), and Love on Trial by Koji Fukada (Japan).

The thematic section “Mysteries and Opium Balls” invites festival-goers to explore the mysteries of human behavior, faith, the irrational, and paranormal phenomena from the East through 20 films. Highlights include Brief History of a Family by Lin Jianjie (supported by the World Cinema Fund and selective distribution grants), Only the River Flows by Wei Shujun (supported by selective video publishing grants), and Burning by Lee Chang-dong, The Law of Tehran by Saeed Roustayi, and Decision to Leave by Park Chan-wook (all supported by distribution grants). Also featured is Santosh by Sandhya Suri (supported by the World Cinema Fund).

The “Spotlight on Near Eastern Arab Cinemas” section includes 12 films from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Iraq. From The Night of the Glass of Water by Carlos Chahine to Incendies by Denis Villeneuve, and from Dream by Rashid Masharawi to Nezouh by Soudade Kaadan, these films serve as remedies to the violence of history.

A retrospective on cinemas from the “Roof of the World” will showcase 17 films from Bhutan, Nepal, the Himalayan Pravat region, and Tibet, taking audiences on a journey in the footsteps of explorer Alexandra David-Néel.

“Young Chinese Talents” will also be celebrated, with ten directors, including Bi Gan, Liang Ming, Ji Zhang, and Li Ruijun, captivating audiences with their talent and the diversity of themes explored.

Over 40 guests, filmmakers, and cinema professionals will meet the public to share their passion for Asian cinema. The festival will feature roundtables on Near Eastern Arab cinemas, young Chinese talents, and Himalayan cinema; themed evenings (Cosplay, Near East, China, Himalayas); and literary, poetry, dance, and music events surrounding the 220 screenings. The festival will conclude on February 3 with the announcement of the awards, followed by a screening of 200 Meters by Ameen Nayfeh.

Award-winning films will be reprised from March 5 to 7, 2026, at the Guimet Museum of Asian Arts in Paris.