The SMART7 Competition, a programme dedicated to emerging voices in European cinema, returns at the 12th edition of FILMADRID International Film Festival with a new selection of films. Conceived as a platform for discovering and supporting early-career auteurs, the programme brings forward films that experiment both thematically and formally, connecting audiences to some of the freshest directions in European cinema. This year’s line-up once brings together seven debut features or films signed by emerging filmmakers, tracing a journey through family relationships, personal crises, and the pressures of contemporary realities.

All titles will screen across the seven festivals forming the SMART7 network: Vilnius IFF Kino Pavasaris (Lithuania), IndieLisboa (Portugal), FILMADRID (Spain), Transilvania IFF (Romania), New Horizons IFF (Poland), Reykjavik IFF (Iceland), AND Thessaloniki IFF (Greece).

For its 12th edition, FILMADRID has chosen As liñas descontinuas (The Dashed Lines),the first feature film by Galician director Anxos Fazánswhich follows the unexpected encounter between Bea, a 50-year-old woman in the midst of a divorce, and Denís, a 28-year-old trans man going through a period of instability. Their connection becomes a relationship of mutual support and personal rediscovery, in a sensitive portrait of loneliness, identity, and the possibility of a new beginning.

Romania’s entry is A River’s Gaze (Malul vânăt)directed by Andreea Borțun.The filmmaker’s feature debut — following her Cannes-selected short When Night Meets Dawn (2021) — observes the relationship between Lavinia, a single mother, and her 13-year-old son Dani, across four seasons spent in a Romanian village. As the boy approaches adolescence, the fragile balance between dependence and autonomy begins to shift, and their bond is tested by socio-economic pressures and the inevitable transformations of age.

From Poland comes No Ghosts on Good Street (Nie ma duchów w mieszkaniu na Dobrej),the debut feature by Emi Buchwaldcentred on the lives of four siblings growing up in the absence of their parents. Closely observing their intimacy, tensions, and forms of dependency, the film proposes an unconventional narrative structure and a layered portrait of the young generation. The project was widely acclaimed at the Gdynia National Film Festival, receiving multiple awards, including Best Director.

Greece is represented by Patty Is Such a Girly Name (Poly koritsistiko onoma to Patty)directed by directed by Giorgos Georgopoulosa coming-of-age drama about Daphne, a teenage judoka from an isolated island. Her move to a larger city to continue training under her mentor marks the beginning of a maturation journey defined by discipline, competition, and the drive for self-affirmation. The film premiered at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and was later awarded at Thessaloniki IFF.

In The Visitor (Svečias)Lithuanian director Vytautas Katkus follows Danielius, a newly-become father returning to his hometown to sell his parents’ apartment. Reconnecting with spaces and people from his past opens a process of remembrance and personal repositioning. The film received the Best Director Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

The Fires (Eldarnir)the feature debut of Icelandic director Ugla Hauksdóttir— a disaster-film-inflected story in which a volcanology expert attempts to warn the scientific community about an imminent eruption threatening Reykjavik, while her personal life becomes entangled in a complicated romance.

The selection is completed by Eternal Flame (Óculos de Sol Pretos)the first feature by Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Ramalhetea melancholic comedy exploring the dynamics of a film crew, while paying tribute to Portuguese cinema and filmmaking at large.

SMART7 Selection:

• A River’s Gaze (Malul vânăt), dir. Andreea Borțun — Romania, 2025
• Eternal Flame (Óculos de Sol Pretos), dir. Pedro Ramalhete — Portugal, 2025
• No Ghosts on Good Street (Nie ma duchów w mieszkaniu na Dobrej), dir. Emi Buchwald — Poland, 2025
• Patty Is Such a Girly Name (Poly koritsistiko onoma to Patty), dir. Giorgos Georgopoulos — Greece, 2025
• The Dashed Lines (As Liñas Descontinuas), dir. Anxos Fazáns — Spain, 2025
• The Fires (Eldarnir), dir. Ugla Hauksdóttir — Iceland, 2025
• The Visitor (Svečias), dir. Vytautas Katkus — Lithuania, 2025

At the end of the festival season, an international jury made up of young film-industry professionals will designate the winner of the competition, who will receive a 5000 €award. In 2025, the SMART7 Trophy went to Portuguese-Cape Verdean director Denise Fernandes for her debut feature Hanamiwith the prize announced during the Closing Gala of the 65th edition of Thessaloniki IFF.

SMART7 is supported by Creative Europe MEDIA and aims to function as a platform for promoting European cinema, creating a meeting space between emerging filmmakers and audiences. Alongside the joint film programme, the initiative also includes activities designed to facilitate international exchange of festival know-how and professional experience.