Wiz-Art 2026 Brings 150 Short Films From 50 Countries to Lviv

The 17th Lviv International Film Festival Wiz-Art will run from 22–27 September, with international and Ukrainian competitions alongside European Short Film Audience Award and partner-festival programmes.

The Lviv International Film Festival Wiz-Art has unveiled the programme for its 17th edition, assembling approximately 150 short films from 50 countries for screenings in Lviv, Ukraine, from 22–27 September 2026.

The newly announced competition programme includes 18 international short films alongside 18 films in the Ukrainian national competition.

For international short-film followers, the programme carries additional relevance because Wiz-Art is part of the European Film Academy festival network and participates in the European Short Film Audience Award.

The 2026 edition will take place across six locations in Lviv, with additional special screenings planned in Kyiv.

18 films enter the international competition

The international competition comprises 18 shorts from Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America.

According to the Ukrainian State Film Agency, the selection includes films that have previously appeared at festivals including Cannes, Berlinale’s Forum Expanded, Clermont-Ferrand, PÖFF Shorts and Annecy, as well as work connected with BAFTA and César awards consideration.

The international competition will be judged by German director and producer Hans Broich and Ukrainian filmmaker and screenwriter Liza Toptyhina, who received the Wiz-Art Audience Award in 2025.

Rather than functioning as an isolated competition programme, the 18 films form part of a much larger festival selection spread across competitive, non-competitive and curated strands.

Ukrainian competition also features 18 shorts

Wiz-Art has selected another 18 short films by Ukrainian filmmakers for its national competition.

The programme includes fiction, documentary and other forms of short filmmaking reflecting contemporary Ukrainian cinema.

The national competition is particularly important within Wiz-Art’s wider role in the country’s short-film ecosystem.

Founded in 2008, Wiz-Art describes itself as Ukraine’s oldest festival dedicated to short films.

Filmmakers including Antonio Lukich, Pavlo Ostrikov, Kateryna Hornostai and Nariman Aliev are among directors whose early work has previously appeared through the festival before they developed wider international careers.

Around 150 shorts will screen across the full festival

The competitions represent only part of the 2026 programme.

Across its six-day edition, Wiz-Art expects to present approximately 150 short films representing 50 countries.

The wider programme includes:

• International Competition
• Ukrainian National Competition
• European Short Film Audience Award selections
• Vilnius Short Film Festival programme
• Ottawa International Film Festival programme
• Open-air screenings
• Children’s film programmes
• Short-film programmes for students aged approximately 13–17

The festival’s opening will also incorporate its Sound & Vision format, pairing films with live music.

For filmmakers following major European short-film programmes this September, Indie Shorts Mag recently covered Encounters Film Festival‘s selection of 142 shorts from 39 countries for its 2026 edition in Bristol.

Wiz-Art has European Film Academy connections

One of Wiz-Art’s most significant distinctions for short filmmakers is its relationship with the European Film Academy ecosystem.

The festival says it is the only Ukrainian film festival currently part of the European Film Academy network.

Wiz-Art also selects a Ukrainian film for the European Short Film Audience Award, a programme in which participating shorts tour partner festivals and compete for a Europe-wide audience prize.

That role gives the festival significance beyond its screenings in Lviv, particularly for Ukrainian filmmakers seeking greater circulation within the European festival circuit.

However, participation in Wiz-Art should not be confused with automatic European Film Awards nomination or qualification. Individual awards and programmes remain subject to their own eligibility and selection rules.

Festival expands significantly from its previous edition

The scale of this year’s programme represents a notable expansion.

Wiz-Art says its 2025 edition screened 58 films, whereas the 2026 festival is expected to present approximately 150 shorts from 50 countries.

The festival has also broadened its format in recent years. Although Wiz-Art was historically centred entirely on short cinema, feature-length films were added to the programme beginning in 2025.

Short films nevertheless remain at the centre of the festival’s identity and 2026 programme.

Where Wiz-Art 2026 will take place

The festival runs:

22–27 September 2026

Lviv, Ukraine

Events are scheduled across six locations, including the Lviv Palace of Arts, Planeta Kino and Lviv’s Park of Culture.

Special screenings are also planned in Kyiv.

The festival’s 2026 theme is “Keep Focus”.

Detailed schedules, screening information and access details are being published through Wiz-Art’s official festival channels.

Wiz-Art 2026 key details

• Festival: Lviv International Film Festival Wiz-Art
• Edition: 17th
• Dates: 22–27 September 2026
• Primary location: Lviv, Ukraine
• Additional screenings: Kyiv
• Total short-film programme: Approximately 150 films
• Countries represented: 50
• International competition: 18 short films
• Ukrainian competition: 18 short films
• Festival history: Held since 2008
• European connection: Part of the European Film Academy festival network and participant in the European Short Film Audience Award

With the competition programme now confirmed, attention turns to the festival itself later this month and the films that emerge from its international and Ukrainian juries.

For short filmmakers following Europe’s September festival circuit, Wiz-Art’s expanded 150-film programme also makes the 2026 edition substantially larger than last year’s event.