German film-maker Nicolaas Schmidt will world-premiere his first feature-length film, September Afternoon, on 10 August 2026 at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, where it screens in the Filmmakers of the Present Competition — the festival's section dedicated to emerging and mid-career directors. The Hollywood Reporter debuted an exclusive clip from the film on 30 July 2026, offering the first public look at Schmidt's debut.

The film has a striking formal constraint: it contains no spoken dialogue. Running 70 minutes and shot in both colour and black and white on 4K digital cinema, September Afternoon tells the story of a couple who refuse to accept that summer is over and head to the coast one last time, where struggles against the elements unravel into a disaster. German Films, the national promotion body, describes the picture as following a family enjoying the final moments of a carefree time on the last day of summer. Schmidt's own website carries the logline "A last summer day as stage of failed illusions" and tags the film with the parenthetical subtitle Grainy Eyes / Sandy Tears and the descriptor "A Post Postmodern Persistence Parable."

Schmidt, born in Leipzig in 1979 and based in Hamburg, directed and edited the film from his own screenplay. It is his first feature after his earlier short work First Time [The Time for All but Sunset — Violet], which world-premiered at Locarno in 2021 and received a special mention in the Pardi di Domani competition — Locarno's strand for short and medium-length films. The return to the same Swiss festival, this time with a feature in a main competition section, marks a step up in scale and visibility for the film-maker.

The production was supported by funding from the FFA German Federal Film Board and the MOIN Film Fund, both granted in 2024. Maxi Haslberger and Balthasar Busmann produced; Thomas Oswald handled cinematography. The cast includes Amin Motallebzadeh, Katharina Grossmann, Hedi Grossmann, and Ada Kurzhöfer. The picture is presented in 4K DCP with 5.1 surround sound and an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

Kino Rebelde is handling international sales — meaning the company responsible for licensing the film to distributors in territories outside Germany will be shopping it to buyers at the festival. Locarno, running 5–15 August 2026, is one of the key European festivals where sales agents and acquisitions executives gather to see new work and negotiate distribution deals.

Schmidt's website lists September Afternoon as a "2026/2027" film, suggesting festival appearances will continue beyond Locarno through next year.