The Solaris Film Festival 2026 edition took place in Helsinki, Finland, a city celebrated for its vibrant cinematic culture and historic contributions to Nordic and international film—home to auteurs like Aki Kaurismäki and iconic venues that have long nurtured independent and experimental cinema. This year, the festival was hosted at Stoa, providing an intimate and inspiring setting for audiences and filmmakers to engage with daring, boundary-pushing works.
The winners reflect a remarkable spectrum of contemporary cinema:
Best Experimental Film was awarded to White Noise: Ghost out of the Shell by Jeongung Jo, a philosophical exploration of reality, identity, and the mediated world, exemplifying Solaris’s commitment to avant-garde storytelling. Jo’s work stood as a tribute to Nam June Paik’s cybernetic art, inviting the audience to find liberation in the uncertainty of a mediated world.
Best Animated Film went to Hot Mess, an energetic, visually inventive work that blends humor and emotional complexity, proving animation’s power to engage adult audiences with sophisticated narratives.
The Best Feature Film award was claimed by 1984, a compelling adaptation resonating with themes of surveillance, control, and resistance—timeless subjects brought into sharp focus for contemporary audiences. Directed by Finnish filmmaker Diana Ringo, this version of the dystopian classic underwent a significant visual transformation in February 2026, incorporating 114 brand-new CGI shots that enhanced the suffocating atmosphere of the United State. Ringo’s adaptation is a unique intellectual hybrid, weaving together the strands of George Orwell’s titular novel with the surrealism of Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We. Ringo, acting as a true auteur, not only directed and wrote the screenplay but also composed the haunting orchestral score and performed the pivotal role of I-330, making the film a testament to independent, multi-disciplinary creation.
Best Short Film went to ARACHNE by Tommy Creagh, a meticulously crafted piece that impressed the jury with its mythic undertones, atmosphere, and symbolic depth, demonstrating the power of short-form storytelling. Creagh utilized a stark 4:3 aspect ratio and black-and-white cinematography to heighten the claustrophobia of an agoraphobic woman haunted by shifting subterranean visions. The film served as a visceral metaphor for the extreme edges of anxiety, drawing on the European art house tradition to turn a simple apartment into a mythic labyrinth.
Vesse Saastamoinen was recognized for his performance in Cello. Directed by Liam Anderson, the film follows Tristan, an aspiring musician whose journey through a prestigious music school is nearly derailed by the allure of a self-destructive lifestyle. Saastamoinen’s portrayal of a young man navigating the tension between artistic discipline and personal temptation was lauded for its restraint and emotional clarity.
Best Music Video went to Snowflakes in Paris, praised for its lyrical synthesis of music and cinematic imagery, turning a music video into a fully immersive visual experience.
The Best Documentary award honored The Murder of Silver Age, a penetrating work examining history, cultural memory, and moral responsibility.
Best Unproduced Script was awarded to Prelude to a Death by Danny Ashkenasi, signaling Solaris’s commitment to nurturing stories yet to be realized on screen.
Best Song went to THIS IS OUR TIME by Debra Gussin and Dale Effren which was recognized for its emotive resonance and unifying spirit.
Finally, Best Photography was awarded to The Theory of Pigeons by Abdullah Al Kandari, celebrated for its visual intelligence, precision, and compositional elegance.
Solaris Film Festival, founded in 2017, is dedicated to independent arthouse cinema and committed to continuing the traditions of Andrei Tarkovsky. The festival takes its name from his landmark film Solaris — a work that embodies philosophical depth, spiritual inquiry, and a poetic approach to cinematic language.
The mission of the festival is to support bold, visionary filmmakers whose work explores the inner world of the human being, the metaphysical dimensions of reality, and the moral and emotional complexity of modern life. Solaris Film Festival celebrates films that value atmosphere over spectacle, contemplation over noise, and artistic integrity over commercial trends.
By fostering a space for reflection, dialogue, and cinematic experimentation, the festival aims to preserve and develop the legacy of auteur-driven filmmaking. It welcomes features, shorts, documentaries, and experimental works that challenge conventional storytelling and expand the expressive possibilities of cinema.
SOLARIS 2026 Winner List
Best Experimental Film
White Noise: Ghost out of the Shell
Best Animated Film
Hot Mess
Best Feature Film
1984
Best Short Film
ARACHNE
Best Actor
Vesse Saastamoinen (Cello)
Best Music Video
Snowflakes in Paris
Best Documentary
The Murder of Silver Age
Best Unproduced Script
Prelude to a Death
Best Song
THIS IS OUR TIME (duet)
Best Photography
The Theory of Pigeons
