The 6th edition of Saraqusta Film Festival, Zaragoza International Historical Film Festival, will take place from April 24 to May 1. Over the course of 8 days, the festival will transform Zaragoza into the capital of historical cinema with screenings of films and documentaries, roundtables and talks on cinema and history, and meetings with directors, actors, and actresses, in a determined effort to bring historical cinema closer to the public.
As festival director José Ángel Delgado has noted, “At Saraqusta Film Festival, we understand that cinema and history are not silos, but two disciplines that feed off one another. That is why the festival is not just a showcase of films and documentaries, but a meeting place where, through rigorous analysis of the past, we contribute to understanding the present. Our goal is for the viewer to enjoy a dual experience: the aesthetic pleasure of a cinematic work and the intellectual exercise of understanding who we are through what we were.”
The Zaragoza City Council—the festival’s organizer alongside the production company Cosmos Fan—is thus reinforcing its commitment to promoting the Aragonese capital as a dynamic cultural city with a growing audiovisual sector, where historical cinema connects with the city’s rich cinematic heritage and its historical legacy, which dates back more than two thousand years.
Sara Fernández, the Regional Minister of Culture, Education, and Tourism, praised “the impact this international festival is having, despite being a very new initiative. This specialized project enriches the ecosystem the city is fostering around film and the audiovisual sector, a strategic area of focus in which this festival plays a prominent role. We connect international historical works in Zaragoza and bring them together in a city nourished for millennia by a blend of cultures and events that reinforce the idea of maintaining Saraqusta as a flagship festival in our events calendar.”
A Tribute to Aragonese Mudejar Art
This year’s poster, designed by David Arenas, pays tribute to Mudejar art, as this year marks the 25th anniversary of the designation of Zaragoza’s Mudejar architecture as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the 40th anniversary of that of Aragon. The image of the tower of the Church of San Pablo in Zaragoza as a film set embodies everything the festival represents: art, heritage, cinema, and the city of Zaragoza itself.
2026 Saraqusta Awards
This year, the festival will pay tribute to British actress Jacqueline Bisset, a Golden Globe winner and recipient of numerous awards at European and American film festivals, who will receive the “Golden Dragon” award during the festival’s closing ceremony on May 1.
Bisset has worked under the direction of renowned directors such as François Truffaut, John Huston, George Cukor, Claude Chabrol, and Roman Polanski, among others. She has also appeared in various historical film and television productions, whether set in past eras or inspired by real events. Among these, the serie “Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story’ (1987), the TV movies ‘Joan of Arc’ (1999); ‘Jesus’ (1999), and ‘America’s Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story’ (2003); the series ‘Inchon’ (1981), which recreates a key episode of the Korean War; ‘Britannic’ (2000), based on the sinking of a hospital ship during World War I; and the series ‘Dancing on the Edge’ (2012), set in 1930s London, for which she received the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.
The festival also recognizes the work of Spanish actress Kimberley Tell for her roles in historical films, including the RTVE La 1 serie ‘Ena‘, in which she plays Queen Victoria Eugenia. The actress will receive the Saraqusta Award at the opening ceremony to be held on April 24 at Fundación Ibercaja Patio de la Infanta.
Actress Kimberley Tell has played historical roles such as Grace of Monaco in the television series ‘Velvet’. She has also appeared in the historical drama ‘Ebro, from the Cradle to the Battlefield,’ based on memoirs written by soldiers who lived through the Civil War, and in ‘45 Revolutions,’ which portrays the historical and social context of 1960s Spain. Her role in ‘Planeta 5000’ (2020), directed by Carlos Val and filmed in Aragon, is also noteworthy.
Special screenings
Saraqusta program features not only films in competition but also works that, due to their subject matter, deserve a place in the lineup. The three works selected on this occasion embody the spirit of the festival and, in particular, that of this edition, where the art and heritage of Zaragoza take center stage. These include the feature-length documentary ‘El patio de la Infanta,’ produced by the Ibercaja Foundation in collaboration with Factoría Henneo (2025) and directed by Luis Galán; and the documentaries ‘Zaragoza, pionera del cine’ (2026), directed by Isabel Soria and Vicky Calavia, and ‘Mudayán’ (2026) by directors Cristina Gálvez Pérez and Francisco Javier Alvero Cornago.
‘Zaragoza, pionera del cine‘ will be screened during the festival’s opening ceremony on April 24, while ‘El patio de la Infanta‘ and ‘Mudayán‘ will be shown on Saturday, April 25, at the Fundación Ibercaja Patio de la Infanta.
Feature Films and Documentaries in Competition
The sixth edition of the festival demonstrates the event’s growing prominence in the audiovisual sector both nationally and internationally. This year, 500 entries were received from platforms and distributors across 50 countries, including Spain, Argentina, Italy, France, and Greece. Additionally, this year saw a notable increase in submissions from the United States and various South American countries.
The feature films selected for this year’s competition are:
- L’AFFAIRE BOJARSKI – France
- PALESTINE 36 – Palestine / UK
- LAS LOCAS DEL OBELISCO – Spain
- PRIMAVERA – Italy
- TRUTH AND TREASON – United States
Documentaries in competition are:
- PENDARIPEN – Spain
- JUANA DE CASTILLA – Spain
- LA NUIT DE CRISTAL – France
- CÓMO CONQUISTAMOS EL OESTE – Spain
- FIUME O MORTE! – Croatia
Panorama Saraqusta and Aragonese Section
The program for the 6th edition of Saraqusta includes the non-competitive section “Panorama Saraqusta,” which will screen works of interest that follow the historical theme characteristic of the festival, and the “Aragonese Section,” specializing in audiovisual works created by artists from the region.
At “Panorama Saraqusta,” the following works will be shown:
- LADY X – Poland
- ENA. LA REINA VICTORIA EUGENIA – Spain
- QUE EL ÚLTIMO DÍA SEA PARA NOSOTROS – Argentina
- PROGRAM OF HISTORICAL SHORT FILMS
- DOS VIDAS. ATENTADO EN SALLENT – Spain
In the “Aragonese Section,” the following documentaries will be screened:
- LA BATALLA DE LAS ERAS
- LAS CALDERAS DE PEDRO BOTERO
- LA BOLSA DE BIELSA
- MEMORIA DE LOS OLVIDADOS
- BORAU Y EL CINE
Highlights of the Sixth Edition
One of the main highlights of the sixth edition of Saraqusta will be the closing gala, which will be held at the Hotel Palafox and will follow a format similar to that of the Golden Globes, where guests will be seated at tables and the winners will be called to the stage to accept their awards.
Official Venues
The Caesaraugusta Roman Theater Museum will once again serve as the festival’s morning venue, where a press conference will be held every morning (10:00 a.m.) with the teams behind the competing productions, who will present their work to the media.
The theater will also host roundtable discussions (12:00 p.m.) focused on various topics related to cinema and history, and Aragonese documentaries will be screened (12:30 p.m.).
In the afternoons, the festival moves to two venues: the Cervantes Cinema and the Ibercaja Patio de la Infanta Foundation. At the Ibercaja Patio de la Infanta Foundation (San Ignacio de Loyola, 16), series and audiovisual works from the non-competitive “Panorama Saraqusta” section will be screened (5:00 p.m.), as well as the documentaries in competition (7:00 p.m.). At the Cervantes Cinema (C. del Marqués de Casa Jiménez, 2), the feature films in competition will be screened daily at 9:00 p.m.
Tickets and passes at special prices
Tickets to watch the films in competition (both feature films and documentaries) can be purchased through the website saraqustafilmfestival.com for 4.5 euros.
The organizers have also made available €15 passes that grant access to the 10 screenings of the films in competition (feature films and documentaries) as well as the opening and closing galas.
Tickets and passes will be available for purchase online starting March 25 on the festival website https://saraqustafilmfestival.com/
The roundtable discussions, Aragonese documentaries, films from the ‘Panorama Saraqusta’ section, and special screenings will be free of charge until capacity is reached, subject to prior online reservation on the festival website.
The festival, co-organized by the Zaragoza City Council and Cosmos Fan, is supported by the Government of Aragon as an institutional partner, the Ibercaja Foundation as the main partner, and Carné Joven de Aragón, Aragón Alimentos, and Ara Film Fest as collaborators.