Wild Horse Nine, Opening Film at Stockholm International Film Festival. Photo: Disney
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ACCLAIMED ‘WILD HORSE NINE’ TO OPEN THE 2026 STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Martin McDonagh, an Afghan rom-com and a French Bronze Horse contender join the festival programme.
The Stockholm International Film Festival is stepping up its game ahead of this year’s event. On Thursday, three new titles will be added to the programme – and first up is a truly prestigious acquisition: the acclaimed Wild Horse Nine, Martin McDonagh’s new political thriller-comedy starring Sam Rockwell, John Malcovich and Steve Bucemi, will be this year’s opening film on November 11. The film, which is currently making waves at the Venice Film Festival, received a full 14 minutes of standing ovations from the audience.
Alongside Wild Horse Nine, the Afghan rom com There Are No Good Men and La Gradiva, a French debut film competing for this year’s Bronze Horse, will be screened.
“It feels fantastic to be opening the festival with Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine. This political thriller comedy is packed with dark humour and cinematic references, and much like In Bruges, sheds a contemporary light on the professional killer’s conscience. Together with the other two new titles, we’re showcasing the breadth and international perspective that lies at the heart of the Stockholm International Film Festival,” says Beatrice Karlsson, programme director of the Stockholm International Film Festival.
Wild Horse Nine – Star-studded, from the director of The Banshees of Inisherin
The Stockholm International Film Festival is stepping up its game ahead of this year’s event. On Thursday, three new titles will be added to the programme – and first up is a truly prestigious acquisition: the acclaimed Wild Horse Nine, Martin McDonagh’s new political thriller-comedy starring Sam Rockwell, John Malcovich and Steve Bucemi, will be this year’s opening film on November 11. The film, which is currently making waves at the Venice Film Festival, received a full 14 minutes of standing ovations from the audience.
Alongside Wild Horse Nine, the Afghan rom com There Are No Good Men and La Gradiva, a French debut film competing for this year’s Bronze Horse, will be screened.
“It feels fantastic to be opening the festival with Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine. This political thriller comedy is packed with dark humour and cinematic references, and much like In Bruges, sheds a contemporary light on the professional killer’s conscience. Together with the other two new titles, we’re showcasing the breadth and international perspective that lies at the heart of the Stockholm International Film Festival,” says Beatrice Karlsson, programme director of the Stockholm International Film Festival.
Wild Horse Nine – Star-studded, from the director of The Banshees of Inisherin
Martin McDonagh follows up The Banshees of Inisherin with a dark and politically charged thriller-comedy in which conscience, high politics and the everyday life of a professional hitman collide.
Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) set out to Easter Island from Santiago, where they are stationed alongside their boss and bureau chief, MJ (Steve Buscemi). Amongst the Island's iconic statues, as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris's newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas) threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways.
Once again, McDonagh combines his distinctive black humour with unexpected tension between his lead actors. The result is a film that looks back at 1970s Chile yet feels highly topical – not least through its exploration of political power and US influence over Latin America.
On November 11, audiences at the Stockholm International Film Festival will be able to see Wild Horse Nine as this year’s opening film at Bio Skandia.
There Are No Good Men – Afghanistan’s first rom-com
With a light touch, exiled filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat navigates her way through both personal and societal crises.
When a conflict at her news station turns her life upside down, unexpected opportunities present themselves to the drama’s protagonist – Naru, a thirty-year-old, divorced camerawoman, played by Sadat herself. The political inevitably becomes entangled with the personal, and the stakes rise as Naru begins to doubt herself. A modern rom-com set against the backdrop of Kabul’s patriarchal labyrinths and the Taliban’s seizure of power – which opened the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.
La Gradiva – French debut film in the running for this year’s Bronze Horse
Cinematographer Marine Atlan’s groundbreaking debut balances visually poetic storytelling with vivid character direction, in which both established and new actors shine.
In the shadow of Vesuvius, a motley crew of young people explore love, sex and politics – and everything in between – during their tumultuous school trip to the legendary ruins of Pompeii. With the preserved human bodies in the Roman city as a backdrop, La Gradiva shows how we are shaped by our own volcanic eruptions.
La Gradiva is in the running for the festival’s prestigious award, the Bronze Horse.
Tickets for all three films go on sale this Thursday, September 10, via stockholmfilmfestival.se
The full programme for the Stockholm International Film Festival will be released on October 14.
Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) set out to Easter Island from Santiago, where they are stationed alongside their boss and bureau chief, MJ (Steve Buscemi). Amongst the Island's iconic statues, as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris's newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas) threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways.
Once again, McDonagh combines his distinctive black humour with unexpected tension between his lead actors. The result is a film that looks back at 1970s Chile yet feels highly topical – not least through its exploration of political power and US influence over Latin America.
On November 11, audiences at the Stockholm International Film Festival will be able to see Wild Horse Nine as this year’s opening film at Bio Skandia.
There Are No Good Men – Afghanistan’s first rom-com
With a light touch, exiled filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat navigates her way through both personal and societal crises.
When a conflict at her news station turns her life upside down, unexpected opportunities present themselves to the drama’s protagonist – Naru, a thirty-year-old, divorced camerawoman, played by Sadat herself. The political inevitably becomes entangled with the personal, and the stakes rise as Naru begins to doubt herself. A modern rom-com set against the backdrop of Kabul’s patriarchal labyrinths and the Taliban’s seizure of power – which opened the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.
La Gradiva – French debut film in the running for this year’s Bronze Horse
Cinematographer Marine Atlan’s groundbreaking debut balances visually poetic storytelling with vivid character direction, in which both established and new actors shine.
In the shadow of Vesuvius, a motley crew of young people explore love, sex and politics – and everything in between – during their tumultuous school trip to the legendary ruins of Pompeii. With the preserved human bodies in the Roman city as a backdrop, La Gradiva shows how we are shaped by our own volcanic eruptions.
La Gradiva is in the running for the festival’s prestigious award, the Bronze Horse.
Tickets for all three films go on sale this Thursday, September 10, via stockholmfilmfestival.se
The full programme for the Stockholm International Film Festival will be released on October 14.
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Stockholm International Film Festival | November 11-22 2026
Founded in 1990, Stockholm International Film Festival is one of Europe’s leading film festivals. For the 2026 edition, we feature 130+ premieres from around the world. Stockholm Industry Days November 16-19, runs alongside the festival as our platform for professionals and emerging filmmakers. Year-round, we also present: Stockholm Film Festival Junior | Drive-In | Sommarbio | Curated screenings and special events at Bio Skandia and Bar Lido, a place for all film lovers.
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