Max Borg - The Film Verdict

Talking to a Stranger

A demon feeds on a mother’s grief in ‘Talking to a Stranger’, a powerful and unsettling piece of Mexican horror.

A parent-child bond is tested in a supernatural manner in the highly entertaining South Korean film ‘My Daughter Is a Zombie’.

Political upheaval is the backdrop for a fact-based dark comedy in the shape of Samuli Valkama’s ‘The Kidnapping of a President’.

Grief and sisterhood are at the center of the oddly moving Norwegian drama ‘Butterfly’, playing in Rotterdam’s Big Screen Competition.

Posted by Max Borg | Jan 29, 2026 | Festivals, Rotterdam 2026 |

TFV inaugurates its Rotterdam 2026 coverage with our customary chat with the festival directors, Vanja Kaludjercic and Clare Stewart.