San Sebastián Closes Its 2026 Festival With Roskam's Resistance Drama 'Le Faux Soir'
The San Sebastián Film Festival has tapped Michaël R. Roskam's "Le Faux Soir" as its 2026 closing night film, slotting the Belgian-French WWII resistance drama into the Kursaal on September 26 after the awards ceremony. The 74th edition of the festival, known by the acronym SSIFF, runs September 18–26 in the Basque coastal city. (Variety)
"Le Faux Soir" will have already bowed for audiences by then. The film world-premieres earlier in September at the Toronto International Film Festival, running September 10–20, where it screens in the Special Presentations section — a showcase for high-profile international cinema. From Toronto it travels to San Sebastián for its European premiere, playing in the Official Selection out of competition, meaning it is eligible for the closing-night showcase but not for the festival's top prizes. (Variety; Screen Daily)
The story is built on a remarkable real episode. Set in Nazi-occupied Belgium in 1943, it follows Resistance fighters after German forces co-opt the national daily newspaper Le Soir as a propaganda outlet. Their response: produce a fake edition of Le Soir, reproducing its paper, nameplate and format but filling the pages with articles mocking the occupiers. The operation has been described as "the world's first media hack." (Variety)
Roskam wrote the screenplay, with Bernard Falaise co-credited on dialogue, loosely adapting Marie Istas's book "Le 'faux' Soir, 9 novembre 1943." Before turning to film, Roskam worked as a journalist for the Dutch-language Belgian newspaper De Morgen — a background that gives the newspaper-spoofing subject matter a personal ring. (Variety)
The cast spans Belgian and French talent: Arieh Worthalter, Mélanie Thierry, Karim Leklou, Mara Taquin, Bouli Lanners, Julien Frison and François Damiens. Frakas Productions and Roskam's own Harbor Men Pictures produce alongside France's Rectangle Productions. International sales are handled by Goodfellas, while Cinéart will release the film in Benelux — the territory covering Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. (Variety)
For Roskam, the San Sebastián berth marks a return after twelve years. His U.S. crime drama "The Drop" won the festival's Jury Prize for Best Screenplay in 2014. His career before that turned heads early: his feature debut "Bullhead" premiered in Berlin's Panorama section, earned an Academy Award nomination for best foreign-language film, and placed Roskam on Variety's Ten Directors to Watch list. He later directed "Racer and the Jailbird," starring Matthias Schoenaerts and Adèle Exarchopoulos, which screened out of competition at Venice and was selected as Belgium's Oscar entry. More recently, he helmed the first three episodes of the Apple TV+ miniseries "Black Bird." (Variety)
What makes the project fit its festival slot so neatly is the thread connecting Roskam's own life to the story. A former journalist making a film about journalists weaponising a newspaper against an occupying army — and doing it through the mechanics of print, not bullets — gives "Le Faux Soir" a hook that travels well beyond the arthouse circuit. Festival closing films carry a particular weight: they are the last picture an audience sees, and programmers tend to choose something with sweep and emotional pull rather than the austere fare that wins juries.
San Sebastián's 2026 competition features 17 titles, three of which are debut films, according to the festival's official website. The full programme is available in Basque, Spanish and English at sansebastianfestival.com. (San Sebastián Film Festival)
