The Aragonese capital is preparing to once again become the great set for historical cinema in Europe. The Saraqusta Film Festival is celebrating its sixth edition from April 24 to May 1, 2026 with two top-tier names: legendary British actress Jacqueline Bisset, who will receive the Golden Dragon at the closing gala, and young Spanish actress Kimberley Tell, who will be awarded the Saraqusta Award at the opening.
Driven by the Zaragoza City Council and the production company Cosmos Fan, the festival has established itself in just five years as one of the few events on the continent dedicated exclusively to historical cinema, in all its forms: fiction, documentary, and animation. «Cinema and history are not separate compartments, but two disciplines that feed into each other,» explained the festival director, José Ángel Delgado, during the official presentation yesterday. «We want the audience to enjoy the aesthetic pleasure of a great film while also understanding who we are through what we once were.»
The municipal councilor for Culture, Education, and Tourism, Sara Fernández, highlighted the rapid rise of the festival: «Despite being a very young proposal, it is leaving an international mark. Zaragoza, a city with over two thousand years of history and a mix of cultures, is the perfect setting for this festival.»
Two careers that are pure history
Jacqueline Bisset, an icon of auteur cinema and muse of François Truffaut, John Huston, George Cukor, Claude Chabrol, and Roman Polanski, will receive the Golden Dragon on May 1. Her filmography is filled with historical titles: from the miniseries Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story (1987) to Joan of Arc (1999), Jesus (1999), Britannic (2000), or Dancing on the Edge (2012), set in 1930s London. A Golden Globe winner and recognized at festivals around the world, Bisset embodies the elegance and experience of classic cinema.
On the other hand, Kimberley Tell—one of the Spanish actresses with the greatest international potential—will be honored on the opening day, April 24. Her trajectory in historical productions is impeccable: she played Queen Victoria Eugenia in the series Ena, portrayed Grace of Monaco in Velvet, and participated in the Civil War drama Ebro, from the Cradle to the Battle and in 45 Revolutions, set in 1960s Spain. Her latest work, Planeta 5000 (2020), was filmed in Aragon.
A high-voltage historical program
The festival has selected ten titles for competition from over 500 works from 50 countries. The feature film section highlights:
- The Perfect Copy (France, 2025), by Jean-Paul Salomé
- Palestine 36 (Palestine/United Kingdom, 2025), by Annemarie Jacir
- The Crazies of the Obelisk (Spain, 2026), by Pablo Moreno
- Spring (Italy, 2025), by Damiano Michieletto
- Truth and Betrayal (USA, 2025), by Matt Whitaker
In the documentary category, Joan of Castile (Spain, 2026), by Santiago Mazarro; The Night of Crystal (France, 2025); How We Conquered the West (Spain/Aragon, 2026), by Elsa Tercero, and two other highly interesting titles will compete.
The Saraqusta Panorama section will include, among others, Ena. Queen Victoria Eugenia and the Aragonese short film Two Lives. Attack in Sallent. Additionally, there will be a Aragonese Section featuring five local productions and three special screenings, including Zaragoza, Pioneer of Cinema (2026), by Isabel Soria and Vicky Calavia.
The venues will be iconic: the Museum of the Theatre of Caesaraugusta for morning activities, the Ibercaja Foundation Patio of the Infanta, and the historic Cine Cervantes for evening screenings. The closing ceremony, in the format of a gala akin to the Golden Globes, will be held at the Hotel Palafox.
A poster that is already history
The official poster, created by designer David Arenas, pays tribute to the Mudejar art of Zaragoza and celebrates the 25th anniversary of the declaration of the San Ignacio de Loyola Tower as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The image shows the tower transformed into a film set, a perfect symbol of the union between history and the seventh art.
Individual tickets cost 4.5 euros and can already be purchased on the official website saraqustafilmfestival.com (starting March 25). There are 15-euro passes for ten entries, and many activities (round tables, Aragonese documentaries, and special screenings) are free with reservation.
From April 24 to May 1, Zaragoza will not only screen films: it will project its own history. And it will do so with two actresses who have best embodied the greatness and complexity of the past. The Saraqusta Film Festival 2026 promises to be, once again, the place where cinema and history shake hands.
