The first Heritage in Motion Festival comes to Bled, bringing together innovative projects at the intersection of heritage, technology and creativity. Bled will become a meeting point for the future of cultural heritage on 29–30 September 2026, when the first-ever Heritage in Motion Festival and Award Ceremony brings together heritage professionals, museums, cultural institutions, filmmakers, digital creators and audiences from Europe and beyond.
The inaugural edition has already generated strong international interest, with submissions received from 19 countries. Following an international jury selection, 11 outstanding projects have been shortlisted as Heritage in Motion 2026 finalists.
From digital experiences and immersive technologies to audiovisual storytelling, accessibility, contemporary art and intangible heritage, the selected projects demonstrate the many ways in which technology and creativity can open new doors to cultural heritage.
Heritage in Motion 2026 finalists are:
- AGLAIA – ARIADNE Glossary in Italian Sign Language and International Sign for Archaeology – Italy
- Grandfather and Grandson: A Tactile-Audio Adaptation – Croatia
- Duomo Highlights Tour – Italy
- Fighting with Words. In a Clandestine Printing Shop – Poland
- Lost Spaces – Cyprus
- Beuys (Joseph Beuys / Wirtschaftswerte) – Belgium
- Home (at the Castle) (nearly) alone – Poland
- LUX IN VITRO: Glass Lamps Across Time – Croatia
- Slavko Oblak – Nature's Hands – Slovenia
- Slavko Oblak – To Remain True – Germany / Slovenia
- Water & Land. Intangible Heritage as a Driver for a Climate-Resilient Future – Belgium
This year’s festival also welcomes the Museums in Short 2026 Award, presented in partnership with Heritage in Motion. The established international competition recognises outstanding short films about museums, with seven finalists selected from submissions from around the world:
- Land of Salvation – Greece
- Animation of the Festive Greeting (Orfelin 1757) – Serbia
- Les Fleurs du Mal – Trakošćan Castle – Croatia
- Making an Enamel Piece – Norway
- The Museum in Progress: Packing up Edvard Grieg's Home – Norway
- The Story of the Flaxseed – Czech Republic
- “That's What the Canoe Gives You” – Canada
The festival opens on 29 September with its professional programme, followed in the evening by a screening of Igor Bezinović's award-winning film Fiume o morte!
On 30 September, the programme continues with a keynote by heritage and tourism expert Terry Stevens, followed by presentations of the HIM finalists. The day will conclude with the Heritage in Motion Award Ceremony at Bled Castle, where the winners in the categories New Digital Experiences, Virtual, Augmented & Extended Reality, Audiovisuals and Museums in Short will be announced, together with the Overall HIM Winner.
The first Heritage in Motion Festival invites professionals and audiences to explore what becomes possible when heritage meets technology, creativity, storytelling and new forms of engagement.
Join us in Bled and discover the projects shaping the future of cultural heritage!
Follow the latest festival updates on Facebook