From the windswept shores of the Arctic to the vibrant cultural crossroads of the tropics, the inaugural Langeland International Film Festival (LIFF) is set to transform the Danish island of Langeland into a global hub for “Island Stories.” Scheduled for May 22–24, 2026, this ambitious new festival—headquartered in the historic town of Rudkøbing—is dedicated to the unique creative spark that emerges from isolated communities.
The festival’s mission, defined by its mantra “Independent Voices, Island Stories,” seeks to bridge the gap between local Danish traditions and international perspectives. Over three intensive “Film Days,” the program will span three iconic venues: the intimate Bio Langeland cinema, the elegant Broløkke Herregård manor, and the Langeland Efterskole. The lineup is a curated blend of narrative features, documentaries, and short films from islands as diverse as Greenland, Haiti, Madagascar, and Tasmania, all exploring themes of resilience, imagination, and the deep connection to the sea.
Beyond the silver screen, the festival emphasizes community and education, featuring workshops for emerging talent and a year-round educational program launching in late 2026. By honoring indigenous voices and fostering dialogue between established artists and a new generation of filmmakers, the festival aims to prove that while islands may be geographically isolated, their stories are universal.
In the following interview, we hear from Douglas Tanton, the Festival Director whose vision of “islander spirit” anchors the event, and Rebecca Pruzan, the Program Director responsible for the festival’s bold and diverse cinematic selections.
Douglas Tanton
Nordic Watchlist: Langeland is a stunning part of Denmark, what sparked the idea of launching a global island film festival?
Douglas Tanton: As a Canadian with a Danish partner and family living on Langeland, I had gotten to know the island of Langeland over the years. Some years ago we purchased a home here on Langeland and really got to know the beauty of the people and places of Langeland. I had worked in film and festivals on Prince Edward Island in Canada years ago so I had always wanted to build a small event with the examination of island life, stories and themes at the centre. Getting to know others in the film business on Langeland led to starting this idea and growing it a couple of years ago. All leading to our first Film Days in 2026 May 22, 23 and 24.
Nordic Watchlist: You’ve made a strong commitment to honoring indigenous voices and stories. How are you ensuring that these communities are not just “screened” but actively involved in the festival’s growth?
Douglas Tanton: As a group trying to be welcoming to all, we are welcoming indigenous stories and narratives. We have reached out to communities of indigenous filmmakers and story tellers from a variety of locations and we will continue to honour their work and interest to share their work. And we look forward to move from these statements to engaging with indigenous filmmakers and storytellers in future years to share and shape our selections of films and build our direction.
We have implemented a statement of indigenous filmmaker support to try and open our arms to these stories, often from indigenous filmmakers across the Nordic islands, islands of northern Canada and worldwide. Our focus on island film globally really means we need to support indigenous filmmakers. Our statement of Indigenous Filmmaker support:
“As you consider digging deeper, joining us on Langeland and watching a film with us please consider that the films and media we may share and support could be created, produced or shaped by the peoples, lands and waters of many indigenous communities worldwide, or come from lands or traditional territories of indigenous communities or first nations peoples.
The Langeland International Island Film Festival respectfully acknowledges we may meet or view programmes from these traditional lands of many indigenous communities, and we thank these nations for the care and stewardship over these shared lands. We honour the lands of indigenous communities who have lived, travelled and gathered for thousands of years before us. It is their footsteps that have marked the land before us. In the work we do today, in the films we screen and celebrate, we will all do our best to act in the spirit of reconciliation and learning to work together to provide better care for these communities.”
Nordic Watchlist: The festival has a massive year-round educational component with local schools (Langeland Efterskole). How do you see the relationship between the local island youth and the international filmmakers you are bringing in?
Douglas Tanton: This year, for Film Days May 22, 23 and 24 we will take the first small steps and we will feature a day of student film screenings, workshops and conversations at Langelands Efterskole on Sunday May 24th. This day will be facilitated by Canadian award winning filmmaker and educator Tamara Segura, herself an island filmmaker currently from Newfoundland island in Canada and originally from Cuba. A pancake breakfast, student screenings and conversations are open to all and we encourage everyone to participate and buy tickets!
Following this first day of workshops where we will share and discuss young filmmaking, and the island filmmaking perspective from Langeland, across Denmark and Internationally, we will assess our next steps. In September we take our next step starting a year round Island Narrative Development workshop with Langelands Efterskole, their Director Michael Thagaard and their students, with screenings of films developed anticipated in 2027.
We will support this project being available to other students digitally. Our first year will be all about building the relationship with Langelands Efterskole students, creating new films with students, and sharing with other students digitally.
Nordic Watchlist: You are starting with three “Film Days” in May 2026 with the goal of expanding to a 4–6 day festival. What is the long-term dream for Langeland’s place on the international festival circuit?
Douglas Tanton: We believe there is a positive place for Langeland International Film Festival to be a place where Danish, Nordic and other island filmmakers from around the world may screen and share their work with a growing audience that comes to Langeland to experience the captivating island films, and the beauty of the Langeland island, culture and people. We hope our growth includes ever increasing involvement of the local Langeland community and growing number of film and cultural tourism interests. We anticipate growing to be place where island filmmakers are interested to come, share their work with this growing audience and perhaps teach and share during the festival season and across the year with new and emerging island storytellers.
Rebecca Pruzan
Nordic Watchlist: As an Oscar-nominated producer, you have a keen eye for powerful storytelling. When selecting films for Langeland, what are you looking for beyond just “islands as a setting”?
Rebecca Pruzan: For me, an island is never just a backdrop: it’s a state of being. I look for films where the island meaningfully shapes the characters, their relationships, and the choices they make. It can be a sense of isolation, deep community, dependence on nature, or simply a different rhythm of life. I’m drawn to authenticity: stories where the island is felt, not just seen.
At the same time, I’m also interested in films that capture an “island feeling” without necessarily being set on a literal island. A film like Wild Child, which won the Robert for Best Short Film, is a great example. It takes place in a near-future world where all adults have disappeared and a group of children are left to survive in their own closed society. Even though it’s not geographically an island, it creates a powerful sense of isolation and a self-contained world: something that deeply resonates with the island experience.
Nordic Watchlist: You’ve selected Welcome to the Moon and Paradis for the inaugural event. What is it about these films that perfectly encapsulates the “Langeland spirit”?
Rebecca Pruzan: Both films embody a boldness and a distinct voice that feels essential to the festival, but they approach the idea of the island in very different ways.
Welcome to the Moon has a raw, expansive energy that challenges both form and audience. The Last Resort (Paradis), by contrast, turns the island into a closed, almost inescapable space, where distance collapses and moral choices become unavoidable.
Together, they show the island as both possibility and pressure: a place of freedom, but also of confrontation. That tension lies at the heart of what we want to explore at Langeland..
Nordic Watchlist: How has your background in producing short films influenced your curation strategy – particularly in how you spotlight the short film format during the festival?
Rebecca Pruzan: Short films are a form where precision and creative risk often go hand in hand. My background has given me a deep respect for the format and the freedom it offers filmmakers. In curating the program, I’ve focused on selecting short films that stand as fully realized works: not stepping stones, but strong artistic statements in their own right.
The short film programme is incredibly strong and includes internationally acclaimed works, including Oscar-nominated films, that would not otherwise reach a Danish audience. 3 Sisters is a beautiful and haunting example. A story about three women living in isolation on a remote island, where even the smallest disruption can unsettle their fragile existence.
We’re also presenting the Icelandic short O by Rúnar Rúnarsson, a poetic black-and-white film about a man struggling with alcoholism. While it unfolds as an internal journey, it carries a profound sense of solitude and circularity that feels deeply connected to the island experience.
Nordic Watchlist: Nordic Watchlist readers love the nuance of Scandinavian cinema. Are there specific themes you’re noticing in contemporary Nordic island films that distinguish them from mainland stories?
Rebecca Pruzan: I often find a different kind of stillness or reflection in island films. There’s typically a closer relationship to nature and a heightened intensity in human connections within small communities. At the same time, there’s often room for the poetic and the absurd. Perhaps emerging from the tension between isolation and the vast openness of the sea. It creates a distinct narrative space that differs from more urban, mainland storytelling.
Nordic Watchlist: What films are you most excited to catch at the festival?
Douglas Tanton: I am really excited to see “Velkommen På Månen” and “Paradis” on Friday May 22nd evening at Bio Langeland, “Storm Alerts” and a really wonderful basket of island shorts including “O” and others on Saturday morning at Bio Langeland, and Saturday night at Broløkke Herregård I look forward to “Ivikkisartoq Kingulleq” (The Last Grass Weaver) and “Sansa” and a host of other shorts and of course Sunday at Langelands Efterskole we will be screening a series of films produced and directed by both Elementary, and graduate students on Langeland and beyond including “Bjørn på Langeland” and “Let The Ball Begin” from Ørstedskolen students and Tamara Segura will screening some Canadian island films like “Song for Cuba” directed by Tamara Segura NFB and “Becoming Labrador” The whole program is really good and I really have to tip my hat to our Program Director Rebecca Pruzan for bringing this all together.
Rebecca Pruzan: I’ve seen almost all the films in the program, and each of them speaks to the festival’s focus in a meaningful way. Many are remarkable works that rarely find their way to Danish audiences.
I’m really excited to present Aske Bang’s debut feature Welcome to the Moon, shot on the island of Møn. It’s a passion project nearly seven years in the making without traditional funding: a testament to persistence and a dedicated team pushing it into existence. It’s also very special that Aske Bang, along with Stanislav Sevcik, will be present to share their journey. I’m curious to see how audiences respond to its raw and uncompromising vision.
I’m equally excited about the short film programs on Saturday and Sunday. There are few platforms where short films get the attention they deserve, despite the extraordinary level of storytelling being produced globally and in Denmark. For me, shorts are a core part of the festival: bold, precise, and often deeply resonant works that audiences rarely get the chance to experience.
The Langeland International Film Festival will take place from May 22–24, 2026, across several historic venues in Rudkøbing. For the full program and ticket information, visit the Langeland International Film Festival website.
