The cultural events you won’t want to miss in Europe this autumn
The summer sun is fading but fear not, European cities have more to offer with art, film and music
As summer comes to a close, Europe’s galleries and theatres are gearing up for a new season of shows and festivals — meaning there’s plenty to keep us occupied as the colder months draw in.
From avant garde electronic music to losing yourself in an immersive exhibition, we’ve picked the best cultural events featuring artists from the south-west Asia and north Africa (Swana) region taking place across the continent for the rest of the year.
Malmö Arab film festival
Founded in 2011, the film festival is the biggest event dedicated to Arab cinema outside of the region. Previewing in Stockholm before it heads to the vibrant coastal city of Malmö next year, the programme is showcasing more than 80 features, short films and documentaries, as well as panel discussions, workshops and networking events.
The festival will show Passing Dreams by the self-taught filmmaker Rashid Masharawi, a heartfelt drama following a boy and his uncle as they pursue a lost carrier pigeon around Palestine. Other highlights include Lebanese comedy drama Arzé, which follows a single mother and son navigating life in Beirut, and the Tunisian drama Red Path, about a family recovering from the trauma of terrorist violence.
Documentaries to look out for are Yalla Parkour, a film about Gaza’s parkour athletes which won a DOC NYC award in 2024, and Sudan, Remember Us, a powerful and urgent insight into the 2019 revolution.
Malmö Arab film festival preview is running between 12-14 September 2025 in Stockholm. The main festival is on 10-16 April 2026 in Malmö.
Tehran Contemporary Sounds
Founded in 2018, Berlin-based record label and promoter Tehran Contemporary Sounds is a hub for Iranian experimental artists and musicians. Its annual festival brings together pioneering artists from Iran and across the diaspora, with a focus on avant garde music, film and visual art.
This year will include a multidisciplinary exhibition featuring work by several Iran-based collectives take place at arts venue Silent Green in Wedding. Throughout the week there’ll be audiovisual performances from contemporary jazz group Quartet Diminished, Kurdish hip-hop artist HJirok, and experimental artists Gisou Golshani and Navid Afghah.
The film screenings hosted at independent cinema Kino Moviemento in Kreuzberg are being curated alongside the Experimental Film Society. There will also be a two-day filmmaking masterclass taking place on 15 and 16 November, where participants can meet with German and Iranian artists and directors. Spaces are limited and those interested should submit an application.
Tehran Contemporary Sounds is running across various venues in Berlin from 23-30 November.
Paris autumn festival
The four-month-long Festival d’Automne à Paris features some of the most innovative contemporary artists from across the globe. Shows take place across multiple venues in the French capital including the Pompidou centre, the Paris Philharmonic and the Garnier opera house.
Moroccan artist Bouchra Khalili will be presenting a video installation and theatre performance based on her research into France’s 1970s Arab Workers’ Movement — a far-left political group that fought for migrant rights.
The contemporary dance curation is particularly strong this year, with Moroccan-born choreographer Radouan Mriziga’s Magec/the Desert, as well as celebrated Lebanese director Mohamed El Khatib’s new show Israel & Mohamed. Conceived alongside Spanish flamenco dancer Israel Galván, it explores both artists’ use of movement to create their own paths away from their deeply traditional families, and draws on their shared heritage on either side of the Mediterranean.
Another of the programme’s highlights is Organon, a collaboration between choreographer Noé Soulier and artist Tarek Atoui featuring a bold sound installation and dance performance at the Pompidou centre.
Paris autumn festival is running from September to December.
Project a Black Planet
This touring show is the first international retrospective exhibition dedicated to the concept of pan-Africanism: an ideology that seeks to establish bonds and solidarity between all people of African ancestry. The concept first emerged in the early 20th century as a grassroots movement advocating for an all-African alliance rooted in socialist values to help achieve independence and prosperity.
As well as politics, the concept influenced artists, writers and cultural workers around the world. This show — developed with the Art Institute of Chicago and the Barbican Centre in London — brings together nearly 350 works by 100 different artists. As well as fine art and music, the exhibition includes paraphilia from protests and written texts from some of the movement’s key thinkers. The Barcelona edition will also feature a section on pan-Africanism in Spain, as well as local events including panel discussions and concerts.
Project a Black Planet is on at the Museum of Contemporary Art Barcelona, from 6 November 2025 to 6 April 2026.
