In a time when the boundaries between fact and fiction become blurrier, Göteborg Film Festival 2026 takes a look at the truth. 

Göteborg Film Festival is the key industry platform in the Nordic region, annually attracting 2,000+ industry delegates from more than 50 countries. 

Under the year’s banner of Focus: Truth, the festival will examine how truth itself is shown, shaped, manipulated and questioned – on-screen, and off.

The so-called “post-truth era” in which we live is characterized by the notion that facts, scientific evidence and objective truth can take second place to emotions and personal beliefs. When truth erodes, trust is undermined and, ultimately, so is democracy. With this year’s focus, the festival seeks to raise the question of what happens in a society where facts lose their power.

“We live in a time when the very Idea of truth is being put under pressure. Where the boundaries between fact and fiction often become blurred: in news feeds, on social media, and in political rhetoric. With Focus: Truth, we want to explore how film can both reflect and influence our understanding of reality,” says Pia Lundberg, Artistic Director of Göteborg Film Festival.

Film plays with the truth. From documentary pursuits of objectivity to fiction that can tell even deeper – and sometimes, truer – stories. Throughout history, film has been used as a tool for enlightenment and a means of propaganda, but also as a way of making hidden perspectives and moral dilemmas visible. In today’s film culture, the boundary between reality and fiction continues to be challenged: via true crime narratives, autofiction and meta-cinema, where film makers scrutinize their own stories. Meanwhile, AI is creating new questions around authenticity, and politically-engaged filmmakers use the truth as a weapon in the fight for justice.

“With Focus: Truth we want to give our audience new perspectives on truth and lies, while encouraging reflection on how we tell our stories and what we choose to believe. The theme is acutely relevant, and deeply human. In January, we want to examine the truth with curiosity and playfulness,” says Pia Lundberg.  

Four films that will be shown as part of Focus: Truth

The Voice of Hind Rajab

Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Country: Tunisia, France

In January 2024, the Red Crescent’s emergency call center receives a call from a six-year-old Palestinian girl. She is trapped inside a car in northern Gaza, surrounded by her dead relatives as bullets rattle against the chassis. While some of the volunteers at the call center try to keep her alive by talking to her, others do everything they can to send an ambulance. Ben Hania’s dramatization of Hind Rajab’s real-life call – and the chain of events it set in motion – is shattering, heartbreaking, and devastatingly powerful. The film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize in Venice. – Pia Lundberg

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 Director: Petter Næss
Country: Norway

As the election approaches, sitting Prime Minister Alma Solvik (Laila Goody) hopes for renewed trust from voters when it is revealed that her husband Sondre (Anders Baasmo) has made a series of lucrative stock deals during her time in office. To handle the escalating media storm, she hires controversial spin doctor Karianne Moen (Pia Tjelta), setting off a chain of events that is as chaotic as it is humorous. Director Petter Næss and screenwriter Ståle Stein Berg draw inspiration from real-life political scandals – not least the stock trading scandal involving Norway’s former Prime Minister Erna Solberg and her husband, Sindre Finnes. -Tobias Åkesson

The Disappearance of Josef Mengele

Director: Kirill Serebrennikov
Country: Germany, France

A few years after the end of the war, Josef Mengele, using a false identity and the help of sympathizers, manages to find refuge in Latin America. There, he lives in isolation, hidden from the justice pursuing him, steadfast in his belief in the lies he surrounds himself with. But a son’s search for the truth about his father forces him to confront his past. August Diehl delivers the performance of his career, giving evil a face in Kirill Serebrennikov’s harrowing depiction of the infamous Nazi doctor’s years in hiding – based on Olivier Guez’s acclaimed novel. – Rasmus Kilander

Re-Creation

Directors: Jim Sheridan, David Merriman
Country: Ireland, Luxembourg

In 1996, film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier was murdered at her home in Cork. A British journalist was convicted in absentia in France but was never brought to trial in Ireland. Here, we sit in on a staged jury deliberation – examining facts and testimonies, and gradually realizing how frighteningly easy it is to be manipulated by emotions and sensationalism. Vicky Krieps shines as the juror who goes against the tide, Colm Meaney portrays the suspected murderer, and Sheridan himself plays the jury foreman, in this tribute – co-directed with Merriman – to the classic 12 Angry Men. – Camilla Larsson

Focus: Truth is presented in association with Riksbankens Jubileumsfond’s Yearbook ”Justice”

The programme for Göteborg Film Festival will be released January 7, 2026.