Shortlist books got film treatments

The International Booker Prize has released six short films for its 2026 shortlist, pairing each translated book with a screen performance by actors including Toby Jones, Indira Varma and Toheeb Jimoh. (thebookerprizes.com) The films went live on April 16 and feature Kae Alexander, Jehnny Beth and Xelia Mendes-Jones alongside Jones, Varma and Jimoh. The Booker Prize Foundation said the actors perform extracts from the nominated titles. (thebookerprizes.com) The 2026 shortlist itself was announced on March 31, with six books selected by a judging panel chaired by novelist Natasha Brown. The winner is due to be announced on May 19 at Tate Modern in London. (thebookerprizes.com) This year is the prize’s 10th anniversary in its current form: since 2016, it has been awarded annually for a single book translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. The winner receives £50,000, split equally between author and translator, and each shortlisted title receives £5,000, also split equally. (thebookerprizes.com 1) (thebookerprizes.com 2) The six shortlisted books are *The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran* by Shida Bazyar, translated by Ruth Martin; *She Who Remains* by Rene Karabash, translated by Izidora Angel; *The Director* by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin; *On Earth As It Is Beneath* by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Padma Viswanathan; *The Witch* by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump; and *Taiwan Travelogue* by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King. (thebookerprizes.com) The foundation has used short films to present shortlisted books since 2022, turning a literary prize into a video campaign built for social platforms. It said the 2025 Booker Prize films were viewed more than 100 million times across its social media channels. (thebookerprizes.com) The 2026 films were directed by Holly Blakey, with costumes drawn from vintage and contemporary Vivienne Westwood and original music by Gwilym Gold. They were shot at Southbank Centre venues including the Purcell Room and the National Poetry Library in London. (thebookerprizes.com) The shortlist also gives a snapshot of the prize’s current reach: the six books were translated from five original languages, and the authors and translators represent eight nationalities across four continents. Five of the six authors and four of the six translators are women. (thebookerprizes.com) For a prize built to reward translation, the films push the books into another form again — from one language into English, and then from the page into performance — just ahead of the May 19 winner announcement. (thebookerprizes.com 1) (thebookerprizes.com 2)