Accredited press · 40th edition · Oct 21–25 · TCL Chinese Theatres
AFI FEST 2026: The Nerd Wire’s Complete Coverage
AFI FEST is under way · October 21–25 · Hollywood
Latest Coverage
Automatic · Newest first-
Ray Gunn Review: Brad Bird’s Sci-Fi Noir Takes Aim at Surveillance, AI Fakes and Xenophobia
Brad Bird’s animated noir puts Sam Rockwell’s down-on-his-luck detective, Scarlett Johansson’s pop star and Tom Waits’ one-eyed alien partner inside a city that’s always watching. Seen at AFI FEST 2026.
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Tony Gilroy Needed a Sanctuary After Andor. In Behemoth!, Pedro Pascal Became His Exclamation Point
Tony Gilroy wanted a sanctuary after Andor. At AFI FEST, he, Pedro Pascal, Kaya Ralls, John Gilroy and three of Behemoth!’s nine composers explained…
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A Country Dog: Ryan Nielsen on Bringing Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Renegade’ Home to Iowa
Ahead of A Country Dog’s AFI FEST world premiere, writer-director Ryan Nielsen and producer Frank D’Argenio talk adapting Shirley Jackson, “Midwest nice” and a…
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The Mosquito Bowl: Bill Skarsgård, Peter Berg and Cast on Honoring the Real Marines at AFI FEST
At the film’s AFI FEST world premiere, Bill Skarsgård described standing where Marine Bob Bauman died on Okinawa, and Peter Berg brought the people…
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AFI FEST Celebrates 40 Years of Cinema as LAIKA’s Wildwood Opens the Festival
The 40th AFI FEST opened at the TCL Chinese Theatre with Bob Gazzale’s four-decade retrospective and the U.S. premiere of LAIKA’s Wildwood. The Nerd…
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“16 Years”: Travis Knight Reflects on Love, Loss and the Making of Wildwood at AFI FEST
At Wildwood’s U.S. premiere, LAIKA’s Travis Knight joked about 16 years of stop-motion, then spoke about the brother, brother-in-law and nephew he lost along…
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AFI FEST Adds Ray Gunn and I Play Rocky to Its Red-Carpet Lineup
AFI FEST has added Brad Bird’s animated Ray Gunn and I Play Rocky to its red-carpet lineup, along with a slate of new special…
Festival dispatches Short updates from Hollywood · Newest first · Pacific Time
The Full Lineup
157 films · Verified against fest.afi.com · September 29, 2026AFI announced the complete AFI FEST 2026 program on September 29: 157 films from 50 countries across ten official sections, with 45% of the films directed by women and 32% by BIPOC filmmakers, by AFI’s count. Every title below links to its official page on fest.afi.com, where AFI sells tickets. Sections, premiere designations, dates and venues are AFI’s; the one-line descriptions are ours.
- DatesOct 21–25Wednesday to Sunday, 2026
- Program157 filmsFrom 50 countries, in 10 sections
- WhereHollywoodTCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood Boulevard
- TicketsOctober 3Individual tickets go on sale; passes are on sale now. Details
Opening & Closing Night Red Carpet Premieres · TCL Chinese Theatre
Opening Night · Red Carpet Premieres · U.S. Premiere
Wildwood
Directed by Travis Knight
LAIKA’s stop-motion adaptation of Colin Meloy’s novel follows teenager Prue McKeel (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) into the Impassable Wilderness beyond Portland after a murder of crows carries off her baby brother. Travis Knight directs.
Wed, Oct 21 · 7:30 PM · TCL Chinese Theatre
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Closing Night · Red Carpet Premieres
Being Heumann
Directed by Siân Heder
They wouldn’t take Judy Heumann’s calls, so she took their building. Siân Heder dramatizes the 1977 protest led by the disability-rights activist (Ruth Madeley) and a scrappy coalition of outsiders, with Mark Ruffalo as the bureaucrat in their way.
Sun, Oct 25 · 7:30 PM · TCL Chinese Theatre
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Red Carpet Premieres The festival’s other gala screenings
Red Carpet Premieres · World Premiere
The Mosquito Bowl
Directed by Peter Berg
Peter Berg adapts Buzz Bissinger’s book about four celebrated college football players — played by Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson and Tom Francis — who set fame aside to enlist in the Marines after Pearl Harbor.
Thu, Oct 22 · 7:30 PM · TCL Chinese Theatre
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Red Carpet Premieres
I Play Rocky
Directed by Peter Farrelly
Green Book director Peter Farrelly tells the true story of an unknown actor convinced he wasn’t just meant to write 1976’s Rocky — he was meant to play Rocky Balboa.
Sat, Oct 24 · 2:00 PM · TCL Chinese Theatre
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Red Carpet Premieres
Ray Gunn
Directed by Brad Bird
Brad Bird’s decades-in-the-making animated passion project is a retro-futuristic neo-noir set in Metropia, a city where humans and aliens live in uneasy coexistence, with the voices of Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Waits.
Sun, Oct 25 · 1:00 PM · TCL Chinese Theatre
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
The program by section Special Screenings shown in full · Open any other section, or show everything
Special Screenings
14th
Directed by Ava DuVernay
Ava DuVernay confronts a fractured America and the promise it has yet to keep.
Sun, Oct 25 · 6:00 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Special Screenings
Ashes (Ceniza en la Boca)
Directed by Diego Luna
Diego Luna adapts Brenda Navarro’s novel into an unconventional immigration drama about a young Mexican woman, fresh from its Cannes premiere.
Sun, Oct 25 · 2:00 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Special Screenings
Behemoth!
Directed by Tony Gilroy
Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton, Andor) leaves the political thriller behind for the volatile, often funny inner world of an artist: Pedro Pascal plays a cellist pulled back into his past by the film scores he works on.
Fri, Oct 23 · 6:25 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Special Screenings
Bitter Christmas (Amarga Navidad)
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar’s autofiction follows two self-absorbed filmmakers in parallel stories, with eye-popping interiors, a Chavela Vargas song and Rossy de Palma.
Sat, Oct 24 · 11:00 AM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Special Screenings
Bunker
Directed by Florian Zeller
Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz square off in Florian Zeller’s (The Father) marital thriller about an architect asked to design a bunker for the ultra-rich.
Thu, Oct 22 · 6:30 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Special Screenings
Clarissa
Directed by Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri
Arie and Chuko Esiri (Eyimofe) move Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway to present-day Lagos, remaking its meditation on memory, desire, class and privilege as a Nigerian story with a star-studded ensemble.
Sat, Oct 24 · 1:15 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Special Screenings
Elsinore
Directed by Simon Stone
Simon Stone tells the true story of Ian Charleson, the Chariots of Fire actor whose legendary 1989 National Theatre Hamlet came in the last year of his life. Andrew Scott stars, with Olivia Colman, Billie Piper and Johnny Flynn.
Thu, Oct 22 · 6:15 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Special Screenings
Josephine
Directed by Beth de Araújo
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in Sundance’s 2026 U.S. Dramatic Competition, Beth de Araújo’s second feature follows the aftermath of an ordinary morning that becomes the line between childhood and the adult world.
Q&A with director Beth de Araújo (per AFI)
Sat, Oct 24 · 2:00 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Special Screenings
The Man I Love
Directed by Ira Sachs
Ira Sachs’ 1980s New York musical drama stars Rami Malek as Jimmy George, a self-declared “theater artist” who pulls lovers, friends and family into his orbit.
Q&A with director Ira Sachs (per AFI)
Fri, Oct 23 · 9:30 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Special Screenings
Mouse
Directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson
Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson (Ghostlight, Saint Frances) follow high-school senior Minnie (Katherine Mallen Kupferer) into a complicated bond with her best friend’s mother (Sophie Okonedo).
Fri, Oct 23 · 6:15 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Special Screenings
Tangles
Directed by Leah Nelson
Leah Nelson’s feature debut turns Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother and Me into an animated film that is as funny as it is moving.
Sat, Oct 24 · 5:30 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Special Screenings
Wild Horse Nine
Directed by Martin McDonagh
Martin McDonagh returns to the tangled friendships of men, this time two CIA agents (John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell) posted to Chile shortly before Pinochet’s coup.
Sat, Oct 24 · 8:45 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries
All of a Sudden
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) heads to France for a story about the patience and resilience it takes to truly care for another person.
Sun, Oct 25 · 1:45 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries
Bucking Fastard
Directed by Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog draws on the real story of Freda and Greta Chaplin, the British twins whose shared life became a public fascination in the 1980s.
Wed, Oct 21 · 9:00 PM · Chinese 1Fri, Oct 23 · 3:45 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries
The Day She Returns
Directed by Hong Sang-soo
Hong Sang-soo’s 34th feature swaps soju for German beer in a playful triptych about identity, memory and privacy.
Double feature with Nowhere to Lay My Eyes (per AFI)
Fri, Oct 23 · 2:30 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries
Diary of a Chambermaid (Femme de Chambre)
Directed by Radu Jude
Radu Jude (Kontinental ’25) loosely adapts Octave Mirbeau’s novel into another scathing, metatextual satire.
Thu, Oct 22 · 9:30 PM · Chinese 4Fri, Oct 23 · 12:00 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries
Gentle Monster
Directed by Marie Kreutzer
Marie Kreutzer (Corsage) turns personal experience and ripped-from-the-headlines stories into a bold study of trust and denial.
Thu, Oct 22 · 9:15 PM · Chinese 1Fri, Oct 23 · 12:45 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Directed by Clio Barnard
Clio Barnard (Ali & Ava) follows five friends in their late twenties through heartbreak and the class divide in a crowd-pleasing, social-realist takedown of late-stage capitalism.
Wed, Oct 21 · 9:30 PM · Chinese 4Thu, Oct 22 · 3:15 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries
Nowhere to Lay My Eyes
Directed by Hong Sang-soo
Sanghee (Kim Min-hee), estranged from her mother for nearly a decade, makes a rare trip to a blustery Jeju Island in Hong Sang-soo’s latest.
Double feature with The Day She Returns (per AFI)
Fri, Oct 23 · 2:30 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries · North American Premiere
Parallel Tales (Histoires Parallèles)
Directed by Asghar Farhadi
Asghar Farhadi reworks Kieślowski’s A Short Film About Love and A Short Film About Killing into a metafictional maze of voyeurism, deceit and illusion.
Sun, Oct 25 · 8:30 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries
Possible Love
Directed by Lee Chang-dong
Lee Chang-dong’s first film in eight years, co-written with Burning’s Oh Jung-mi and starring Jeon Do-yeon (Secret Sunshine).
Wed, Oct 21 · 5:15 PM · Chinese 1Thu, Oct 22 · 2:30 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries
Tender Loving Care
Directed by Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh follows Hard Truths with another closely observed study of the resilience and compassion of ordinary people.
Sun, Oct 25 · 11:30 AM · Chinese 4
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries · North American Premiere
This Is How a Child Becomes a Poet
Directed by Céline Sciamma
Céline Sciamma’s first documentary, a 2023 short-form tribute to the Italian poet Patrizia Cavalli.
Screens with Tutti Frutti (per AFI)
Fri, Oct 23 · 12:30 PM · Chinese 5Sat, Oct 24 · 11:10 AM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries · North American Premiere
Tutti Frutti
Directed by Céline Sciamma
Céline Sciamma’s mid-length answer to the Centre Pompidou’s question “Where are you at?”
Screens after This Is How a Child Becomes a Poet (per AFI)
Fri, Oct 23 · 12:30 PM · Chinese 5Sat, Oct 24 · 11:10 AM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Luminaries
Union Town
Directed by Barbara Kopple
Fifty years after Harlan County, USA, two-time Oscar® winner Barbara Kopple returns to the front lines of the labor movement.
Q&A with director Barbara Kopple (per AFI)
Sun, Oct 25 · 2:15 PM · Chinese 4
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
9 Temples to Heaven
Directed by Sompot Chidgasornpongse
Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s first narrative feature is a meditative travelogue about a Thai family working through Buddhist tradition, built around the lucky number nine.
Sun, Oct 25 · 5:20 PM · Chinese 4
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
At Night
Directed by Beatrice Gibson
Beatrice Gibson’s hypnotic autofiction debut won the Best Emerging Director award at this year’s Locarno Film Festival.
Sun, Oct 25 · 6:40 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
Bedford Park
Directed by Stephanie Ahn
Stephanie Ahn’s feature debut, grounded by a South Korean cast, follows two lost souls and the connection that grows between them in an unlikely place.
Thu, Oct 22 · 9:15 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
Ben’imana
Directed by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo
Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo’s debut, set in a rural Rwandan village eighteen years after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, looks at a nation still living with what happened.
Q&A with director Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo (per AFI)
Sat, Oct 24 · 8:00 PM · Chinese 2
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
Chronicles from the Siege
Directed by Abdallah Alkhatib
Abdallah Alkhatib’s debut assembles interconnected vignettes of life under siege, urgent and deadpan at once.
Sun, Oct 25 · 1:25 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
Elephants in the Fog
Directed by Abinash Bikram Shah
A sacred Kinnar community in a remote Nepalese village, surrounded by wild elephants, anchors Abinash Bikram Shah’s atmospheric thriller, winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes.
Thu, Oct 22 · 6:15 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
Flesh and Fuel
Directed by Pierre Le Gall
Pierre Le Gall follows Étienne, a veteran French trucker whose life on the road has left little room for intimacy beyond rest-stop encounters.
Q&A with director Pierre Le Gall (per AFI)
Sat, Oct 24 · 5:45 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
Forest High
Directed by Manon Coubia
Manon Coubia spent ten years as a seasonal mountain-refuge keeper in the French Alps; her debut is a triptych of stories set in one such refuge.
Sun, Oct 25 · 2:45 PM · Chinese 2
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
Forever Your Maternal Animal (Siempre Soy Tu Animal Materno)
Directed by Valentina Maurel
Valentina Maurel’s lyrical second feature won the Un Certain Regard Best Actress award at Cannes for its three leads, Marina de Tavira, Daniela Marín Navarro and Mariangel Villegas.
Q&A with director Valentina Maurel (per AFI)
Sat, Oct 24 · 2:45 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
The Friend’s House Is Here
Directed by Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei
Pari and Hanna, artist friends and roommates in Tehran, divide their time between day jobs, their own work and the city’s art scene. Directed by Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei.
Thu, Oct 22 · 9:10 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery · North American Premiere
Goodbye Cruel World (Adieu Monde Cruel)
Directed by Félix de Givry
Actor Félix de Givry (Eden) makes his directing debut with a dreamy, fable-like teen romance starring Milo Machado-Graner (Anatomy of a Fall).
Thu, Oct 22 · 12:15 PM · Chinese 5Sun, Oct 25 · 4:15 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
La Gradiva
Directed by Marine Atlan
A high-school trip to Naples and Pompeii becomes a passage into adulthood for a group of Parisian teenagers in cinematographer-turned-director Marine Atlan’s first feature.
Sat, Oct 24 · 8:15 PM · Chinese 4
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
Iván & Hadoum
Directed by Ian de la Rosa
Ian de la Rosa’s debut, winner of the Berlinale’s Teddy Award and three Silver Biznagas at Málaga, follows Iván, a forklift driver at a small-town greenhouse.
Wed, Oct 21 · 9:00 PM · Chinese 2
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
The Meltdown (El Deshielo)
Directed by Manuela Martelli
Manuela Martelli follows an Antarctic iceberg shipped across the world as a showpiece for a country eager to rebrand itself after an oppressive era.
Q&A with director Manuela Martelli (per AFI)
Sat, Oct 24 · 8:30 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery · U.S. Premiere
Prosecution (Staatsschutz)
Directed by Faraz Shariat
Faraz Shariat (No Hard Feelings) returns with a propulsive, gritty procedural rooted in queer and post-migrant Germany.
Fri, Oct 23 · 9:30 PM · Chinese 4
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery · North American Premiere
The Station (Al Mahattah)
Directed by Sara Ishaq
In war-torn Yemen, Layal runs a women-only petrol station that doubles as a café and social club, with three rules: no men, no weapons, no politics. Sara Ishaq directs.
Sun, Oct 25 · 7:30 PM · Chinese 2
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
Trial of Hein (Der Heimatlose)
Directed by Kai Stänicke
Kai Stänicke’s debut follows Hein back to the windswept, fiercely insular island village he left as a teenager.
Q&A with director Kai Stänicke and actor Paul Boche (per AFI)
Thu, Oct 22 · 6:00 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Discovery
We Are Aliens
Directed by Kohei Kadowaki
Kohei Kadowaki, known for animated music videos for YOASOBI, makes a layered, tender feature debut about a life-changing upheaval.
Sat, Oct 24 · 11:00 AM · Chinese 4
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
The Beloved (El Ser Querido)
Directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Rodrigo Sorogoyen (The Beasts) directs Javier Bardem as Esteban Martínez, a legendary Spanish filmmaker who comes home to shoot his next picture.
Thu, Oct 22 · 3:25 PM · Chinese 6Sun, Oct 25 · 5:15 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
A Bit of Light
Directed by Ali Asgari
Ali Asgari (Terrestrial Verses) keeps a precise, restrained tone in a drama led by Misagh Zare (The Seed of the Sacred Fig).
Wed, Oct 21 · 9:15 PM · Chinese 3Thu, Oct 22 · 5:30 PM · Chinese 2
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema · North American Premiere
Black Money for White Nights
Directed by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov
Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov follow Marina and Gosha, a middle-aged Bulgarian couple who have learned to work the angles in a society where nearly everyone is on the take.
Wed, Oct 21 · 6:10 PM · Chinese 5Fri, Oct 23 · 1:00 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
Everytime
Directed by Sandra Wollner
Sandra Wollner’s third feature follows The Trouble with Being Born, her Berlin Encounters Special Jury Prize winner whose festival run was cut short by the pandemic.
Q&A with director Sandra Wollner (per AFI)
Wed, Oct 21 · 8:45 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
Flies (Moscas)
Directed by Fernando Eimbcke
Fernando Eimbcke returns to the black-and-white style of his debut Duck Season for a delicate, wry story about grief.
Thu, Oct 22 · 12:45 PM · Chinese 3Sat, Oct 24 · 3:45 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
The Idiot(s)
Directed by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert
Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert take an irreverent look at Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Johnny Flynn) on a messy honeymoon in Baden-Baden.
Thu, Oct 22 · 11:45 AM · Chinese 1Sun, Oct 25 · 9:15 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
Iron Boy
Directed by Louis Clichy
Louis Clichy’s story of eleven-year-old Christophe, growing up with his brother, his kind mother and his stern father on an aging French farm.
Sun, Oct 25 · 11:20 AM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
The Loneliest Man in Town
Directed by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel
Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel (La Pivellina) offer a fictionalized portrait of Al Cook, the Austrian blues musician inspired by Elvis Presley.
Thu, Oct 22 · 3:00 PM · Chinese 2Sun, Oct 25 · 5:15 PM · Chinese 2
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
A Long Winter
Directed by Andrew Haigh
Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers) adapts Colm Tóibín’s novella into a mysterious, beguiling story of grief, desire and queer awakening.
Sun, Oct 25 · 11:00 AM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
A Man of His Time (Notre Salut)
Directed by Emmanuel Marre
Emmanuel Marre’s unconventional biopic of Henri Marre (Swann Arlaud) won the Best Screenplay award at Cannes.
Fri, Oct 23 · 2:30 PM · Chinese 5Sun, Oct 25 · 11:15 AM · Chinese 2
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
Nina Roza
Directed by Geneviève Dulude-De Celles
Geneviève Dulude-De Celles’ second narrative feature, set between Canada and Bulgaria, reflects on fatherhood, heritage and art.
Q&A with director Geneviève Dulude-De Celles (per AFI)
Sun, Oct 25 · 1:45 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
Queen at Sea
Directed by Lance Hammer
Tom Courtenay and Anna Calder-Marshall shared Berlin’s Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance in Lance Hammer’s family drama about aging and sexuality.
Sun, Oct 25 · 4:40 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
Rose
Directed by Markus Schleinzer
Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall) leads Markus Schleinzer’s (Michael) strikingly original third feature.
Q&A with director Markus Schleinzer (per AFI)
Wed, Oct 21 · 6:15 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
Salvation (Kurtuluş)
Directed by Emin Alper
Emin Alper’s provocative allegory watches a charismatic leader stoke long-simmering grievances into hatred and violence.
Thu, Oct 22 · 9:45 PM · Chinese 6Fri, Oct 23 · 12:40 PM · Chinese 2
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
We Are All Strangers
Directed by Anthony Chen
Thirteen years in the making, Anthony Chen’s (Ilo Ilo) conclusion to his Growing Up trilogy reunites him with Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler.
Thu, Oct 22 · 12:00 PM · Chinese 6Sun, Oct 25 · 8:00 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
World Cinema
Yellow Letters (Gelbe Briefe)
Directed by İlker Çatak
İlker Çatak (The Teachers’ Lounge) returns with an allegory about art and authoritarianism that won the Golden Bear at the 2026 Berlin Film Festival.
Thu, Oct 22 · 2:45 PM · Chinese 5Sat, Oct 24 · 6:30 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
The Best Summer
Directed by Tamra Davis
Music-video veteran Tamra Davis, whose credits include The Smiths, The Bangles and Young MC, made this documentary after evacuating her home during the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
Sun, Oct 25 · 8:30 PM · Chinese 4
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Citizen Osama (Al Mowaten Osama)
Directed by Ahmed Hassouna
Osama Al-Ashi, a young photographer turned citizen journalist, stays in northern Gaza with his wife and newborn as the line between documenting history and surviving it disappears.
Q&A with producer Laura Nikolov (per AFI)
Wed, Oct 21 · 6:30 PM · Chinese 2
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Edward Said: Between Worlds
Directed by Maiken Baird
Maiken Baird’s profile of the Palestinian scholar and activist moves from his childhood in Jerusalem to the books that made his name.
Q&A with director Maiken Baird and producer Sarah Mowaswes (per AFI)
Sat, Oct 24 · 11:45 AM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
I Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies
Directed by Mani Haghighi
Mani Haghighi’s unorthodox documentary lives up to its title in portraying Nasser Bakhshi and Roghayeh Najdi, married artists and collectors in Tabriz.
Fri, Oct 23 · 9:15 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Jail Time Records
Directed by Dione Roach and Steve Happi
Tribeca’s Best Documentary winner mixes vérité filmmaking with raucous music videos inside Cameroon’s New Bell Prison, home to 6,000 inmates.
Q&A with co-director Dione Roach (per AFI)
Fri, Oct 23 · 8:45 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
The Match
Directed by Juan Cabral and Santiago Fraco
Juan Cabral and Santiago Fraco revisit the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and England at the Estadio Azteca, played only a few years after the Falklands War.
Thu, Oct 22 · 6:45 PM · Chinese 4Fri, Oct 23 · 3:45 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean
Directed by Barnaby Thompson
Barnaby Thompson’s documentary on David Lean, the director of The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, and the doubters he faced even at his peak.
Sat, Oct 24 · 10:30 AM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
My Brother’s Killer
Directed by Rachel Mason
Rachel Mason, whose Circus of Books told the story of her parents’ West Hollywood shop, returns to the neighborhood with another true story.
Sat, Oct 24 · 7:00 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Nuisance Bear
Directed by Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman
As climate change and human expansion shrink their territory, polar bears push into populated areas; Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman document the dangerous confrontations that follow.
Q&A with directors Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman (per AFI)
Fri, Oct 23 · 6:45 PM · Chinese 4
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
One in a Million
Directed by Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes
Winner of Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary Audience and Directing awards, Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes’ ten-year chronicle follows a Syrian family and their effervescent eldest daughter.
Q&A with co-director Jack MacInnes (per AFI)
Fri, Oct 23 · 6:20 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Pretenders
Directed by Joss Crowley
Joss Crowley traces Chrissie Hynde from restless Akron teenager to the commanding voice of the Pretenders.
Q&A with director Joss Crowley (per AFI)
Sat, Oct 24 · 2:00 PM · Chinese 4
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Rehearsals for a Revolution
Directed by Pegah Ahangarani
Actor and filmmaker Pegah Ahangarani draws on four decades of archives for a personal account of Iran’s history since the 1979 Revolution.
Sat, Oct 24 · 1:00 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Revolutionaries Never Die
Directed by Mohanad Yaqubi
Mohanad Yaqubi’s cinematic letter to the late Lebanese filmmaker Jocelyne Saab explores her daring documentary work from 1973 to 1983.
Sun, Oct 25 · 11:10 AM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Soul Patrol
Directed by J.M. Harper
J.M. Harper tells the story of Team 2/6, the U.S. Army’s first all-Black special operations team, and its long-range reconnaissance missions deep in enemy territory in Vietnam.
Q&A with director J.M. Harper and the film’s subject (per AFI)
Wed, Oct 21 · 6:20 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Stealing Magic
Directed by Matthew Testa
A baffling case of stolen magic tricks turns into an international adventure with the twists of a thriller in Matthew Testa’s documentary.
Fri, Oct 23 · 6:00 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story
Directed by Ayden Mayeri
Ayden Mayeri digs into an improbable music-history legend: four girls, one homemade album, at the dawn of the new millennium.
Sat, Oct 24 · 5:15 PM · Chinese 4
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Documentary
Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing
Directed by Erik Shirai
Erik Shirai (The Birth of Saké) returns eleven years later with an inside look at the tradition of sumo.
Q&A with director Erik Shirai and producer Carolyn Hepburn (per AFI)
Wed, Oct 21 · 6:40 PM · Chinese 4
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
After Dark
The Face of Horror
Directed by Anna Biller
Anna Biller (The Love Witch) reimagines the Japanese ghost story Yotsuya Kaidan as a pulpy, technicolor feminist folktale.
Q&A with director Anna Biller and members of the creative team (per AFI)
Wed, Oct 21 · 9:10 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
After Dark
Full Phil
Directed by Quentin Dupieux
Quentin Dupieux’s first English-language film since Wrong Cops is a gonzo comedy about an attempt at family bonding that goes badly wrong.
Fri, Oct 23 · 10:00 PM · Chinese 1
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
After Dark
Too Many Beasts (L’Espèce Explosive)
Directed by Sarah Arnold
Sarah Arnold’s deadpan, unpredictable debut won the Europa Cinemas Label for Best European Film at this year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
Sat, Oct 24 · 9:30 PM · Chinese 5
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Guest Artistic Directors
An Evening with Phil Lord and Chris Miller: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Guest Artistic Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Project Hail Mary) sit down for a conversation before a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 epic.
Conversation with Phil Lord and Chris Miller before the screening (per AFI)
Sat, Oct 24 · 7:30 PM · TCL Chinese Theatre
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Guest Artistic Directors
Harold and Maude
Directed by Hal Ashby
Hal Ashby’s 1971 dark comedy about a death-obsessed rich kid (Bud Cort) and the 79-year-old free spirit who changes his life, one of Lord and Miller’s three Project Hail Mary inspirations.
Sat, Oct 24 · 9:45 PM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Guest Artistic Directors
The Muppet Movie
Directed by James Frawley
Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo and Miss Piggy sing their way to Hollywood in the Muppets’ 1979 big-screen debut, chosen by Lord and Miller as a Project Hail Mary inspiration.
Sun, Oct 25 · 11:15 AM · Chinese 6
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Guest Artistic Directors
Rififi (Du Rififi chez les Hommes)
Directed by Jules Dassin
Jules Dassin’s 1955 heist classic, a French answer to American noir, rounds out Lord and Miller’s Project Hail Mary inspirations.
Sun, Oct 25 · 9:00 PM · Chinese 3
Official film page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Short Film Competition
Shorts: After Dark
- MUKBANG — Joe Grode (USA, 11 min)
- TROPIC OF THE MOURNING GECKO (ΤΡΟΠΙΚΌΣ ΤΟΥ ΘΡΗΝΟΎΝΤΟΣ ΓΚΈΚΟ) — Stavros Markoulakis (Greece, 19 min)
- A CRIME ACROSS FOUR LANDSCAPES — Aidan Weaver (USA, 7 min)
- THE LIFE CYCLE OF A GREY ANT (LE CYCLE DE VIE DES FOURMIS GRISES) — Caraz (Canada, France, 17 min)
- A BREACH WITHIN (UNE BRÈCHE) — Jean-François Leblanc (Canada, 28 min)
- THE BOVINE COMEDY — Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (France, 26 min)
Fri, Oct 23 · 9:20 PM · Chinese 2
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Short Film Competition
Shorts: Animation 1
- TRADING CARDS — Radheya Jang (Australia, UK, 15 min)
- WHERE WERE WE? — Suresh Eriyat (India, 4 min)
- A LITTLE DEATH — Leto Meade, Jonathan Rockefeller (UK, 12 min)
- THE DAUGHTERS OF THE LATE COLONEL — Elizabeth Hobbs (Germany, UK, 9 min)
- EMULSION — Shiyu (Shino) Tang (USA, 7 min)
- WITH TAPES AND TOASTS IN THE CAR (IM AUTO TAPES UND BUTTERBROT) — Kiana Naghshineh (Germany, France, 14 min)
- GAÏA — Gwenola Heck (Germany, 4 min)
- THE END — Niki Lindroth von Bahr (Sweden, France, Denmark, 17 min)
Sat, Oct 24 · 11:30 AM · Chinese 2
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Short Film Competition
Shorts: Animation 2
- VENEZIA DIORAMA — Nicolas Piret (7 min)
- IN THE BEGINNING — Ala Nunu (Poland, Portugal, Spain, 11 min)
- SABA — Liron Topaz (USA, UK, 10 min)
- LE JARDIN ROSSINI — William Burger, Siméon Jacob, Odelia Laine, Garance Mondamert, Tara Rewal, Mathilde Vergereau, Arthur Wong (France, 10 min)
- AKTOS — Madina Yelikbayeva (Kazakhstan, 13 min)
- EACH, ALL AND EVERY — Nikoletta Veress (Hungary, 11 min)
- DEEP END — Puzhen Zhang (UK, 8 min)
- LIVING WITH A VISIONARY — Stephen P. Neary (USA, 15 min)
Sat, Oct 24 · 2:15 PM · Chinese 2
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Short Film Competition
Shorts: Documentary 1
- LISTEN — Taliesin Black-Brown (USA, 15 min)
- A WOMAN’S PLACE IS EVERYWHERE — Fanny Texier (USA, 22 min)
- I THINK YOU SHOULD BE HERE — Anna-Marija Adomaitytė, Élie Grappe (France, Switzerland, 12 min)
- STALIN BOYS — Bianca Giaever, Ora DeKornfeld (USA, 22 min)
- STILL STANDING — Victor Tadashi Suarez, Livia Albeck-Ripka (USA, 10 min)
- A WOLF IN THE SUBURBS — Amélie Hardy (Canada, 18 min)
Fri, Oct 23 · 6:30 PM · Chinese 2
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Short Film Competition
Shorts: Documentary 2
- TERRI & RICHARD — Alex Bijan Zandi (USA, 17 min)
- CHUURAA — Evgenia Arbugaeva (UK, 18 min)
- BUCKSKIN — Mars Verrone (USA, 17 min)
- AT THE STAGE WHEN (CI SHI CI KE) — Hao Zhou (China, 16 min)
- WATER COOLER — Emma V.F. (USA, 12 min)
- THE BOYS AND THE BEES — Arielle C. Knight (USA, 19 min)
Sat, Oct 24 · 5:00 PM · Chinese 2
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Short Film Competition
Shorts: Live Action 1
- A FEW THINGS HAPPENING BY A RIVER (ALGUMAS COISAS QUE ACONTECEM AO LADO DE UM RIO) — Daniel Soares (Portugal, France, 14 min)
- NOBODY SAID ANYTHING (NIKO NIŠTA NIJE REKAO) — Tamara Todorović (Croatia, France, Serbia, Slovenia, 15 min)
- WE WERE HERE — Pranav Bhasin (India, 11 min)
- PRIVATE PROPERTY — Deepak Rauniyar (Australia, France, Nepal, USA, 17 min)
- FREE ELIZA (NOTES ON AN ANATOMICAL IMPERFECTION) — Alexandra Matheou (Cyprus, France, Greece, 20 min)
- SAUNA SICKNESS — Malin Barr (Sweden, 15 min)
Thu, Oct 22 · 8:15 PM · Chinese 2
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Short Film Competition
Shorts: Live Action 2
- MUTRION — Marco Cavazzin (Italy, 20 min)
- A SHOT AT ART — Ilke Paddenburg (Netherlands, 17 min)
- A COUNTRY DOG — Ryan Nielsen (USA, 22 min)
- STALLION Y LA BOLA DE CRISTAL (STALLION AND A CRYSTAL BALL) — Christian Avilés (Spain, 19 min)
- MARGA EN EL DF — Gabriela Ortega (Mexico, 21 min)
Fri, Oct 23 · 3:30 PM · Chinese 2
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
AFI Conservatory Showcase
Conservatory Showcase 1
- EL FRÍO QUE GUÍA LUZ — Emily Gularte (USA, 16 min)
- NORTH — Timur Almazov (USA, 16 min)
- LITTLE BIRDS — Eliana Victoria Alcouloumre (USA, 17 min)
- JIE — Zhanyin River Xiao (USA, 15 min)
- PUNKIN — Ines Corina Michelena (USA, 15 min)
Thu, Oct 22 · 1:45 PM · Chinese 4
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
AFI Conservatory Showcase
Conservatory Showcase 2
- NO COWBOYS — Piper De Palma (USA, 14 min)
- SHEDDING — Peiqi Peng (USA, 12 min)
- KILLER OF MEN — Jordan Betine (USA, 13 min)
- SOUND OF FIRE — Hyo Kim (USA, 17 min)
- KAVOR — Joseph El-Khoury (USA, 19 min)
Thu, Oct 22 · 4:15 PM · Chinese 4
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
AFI Conservatory Showcase
Conservatory Showcase 3
- RAMBLE MANIA — Yash Saraf (USA, 15 min)
- THE CRYONICIST — Joe Greening (USA, 15 min)
- WILL — Adam von Carr (USA, 16 min)
- VENGEANCE IS ALL I HAVE — Christian Osagiede (USA, 17 min)
- DOOR KNOCKING — Rachel Elizabeth Deutsch (USA, 14 min)
Fri, Oct 23 · 11:30 AM · Chinese 4
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
AFI Conservatory Showcase
Conservatory Showcase 4
- YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU — Maria Mondragon Gomez Tagle (USA, 14 min)
- THE LITTLE MERMAID — Jingchu Zhang (USA, 15 min)
- A SUPERHERO’S FATHER — Megh Patil (USA, 14 min)
- IF EVER — Colin Rosemont (USA, 16 min)
- CONGRATS ON FIRST CHAIR — Kaylin Allshouse (USA, 17 min)
Fri, Oct 23 · 2:00 PM · Chinese 4
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
AFI Conservatory Showcase
Conservatory Showcase 5
- BITER — Jack Beckett Cohen (USA, 25 min)
- DEGREE OF CERTAINTY — Simon Schneider (USA, 17 min)
- COOL PEOPLE — Michelle Kahn (USA, 15 min)
- TRUANT — Robyn Wholey (USA, 19 min)
Fri, Oct 23 · 4:20 PM · Chinese 4
Official program page & tickets (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
No film in the lineup matches that search. Try a different title, filmmaker or country.
Source: AFI’s full-lineup announcement and the official AFI FEST film guide, both checked on September 29, 2026. Where AFI lists a post-screening conversation, the card says so; guests are AFI’s announcements, not ours, and can change.
The Nerd Wire Watchlist
Editorial picks · Not reviewsThe films we’re circling on the schedule, chosen by The Nerd Wire’s editors from AFI’s announcement. These are not reviews — we haven’t seen them yet — and they are not a promise of coverage; they’re the titles we’ll be trying hardest to get into. Reviews and interviews land in the sections below as they are published.
Genre & After Dark
The late-night strand and the thrillers we’re circling
- The Face of HorrorAnna Biller’s technicolor take on a Japanese ghost story is the After Dark title we’ve been waiting for.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Full PhilQuentin Dupieux back in English for the first time since Wrong Cops.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Too Many Beasts (L’Espèce Explosive)A deadpan Directors’ Fortnight prize-winner that AFI describes as deliriously hog-wild.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- BunkerBardem versus Cruz in a marital thriller from the director of The Father.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Wild Horse NineMartin McDonagh, two CIA agents and Chile on the eve of the coup.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Animation
Two of the year’s biggest animated events, plus the shorts programs
- WildwoodLAIKA opens the festival with its stop-motion Wildwood.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Ray GunnBrad Bird’s long-gestating Ray Gunn finally hits a screen.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- TanglesAn animated graphic-memoir adaptation that AFI calls one of the year’s most heartfelt.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Shorts: Animation 1 & 2Two animation shorts programs on Saturday, October 24, with sixteen films between them.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Filmmakers we follow
New work from names that get us into a theater on sight
- Bitter Christmas (Amarga Navidad)Almodóvar’s autofiction.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- All of a SuddenHamaguchi in France, at 196 minutes.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Possible LoveLee Chang-dong’s first film in eight years.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Parallel Tales (Histoires Parallèles)Farhadi doing Kieślowski.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Behemoth!Tony Gilroy and Pedro Pascal on movie music.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- A Long WinterAndrew Haigh adapting Colm Tóibín.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Bucking FastardHerzog and the Chaplin twins.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Tender Loving CareMike Leigh, one year after Hard Truths.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Awards contenders
Prize-winners and Oscar® submissions in the program
- Yellow Letters (Gelbe Briefe)Berlin’s Golden Bear winner, from the director of The Teachers’ Lounge.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- JosephineSundance’s Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award, both.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- RoseSandra Hüller, and Austria’s Best International Feature submission.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Elephants in the FogCannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner and Nepal’s submission.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Being HeumannClosing Night, and the TIFF People’s Choice second runner-up.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- I Play RockyTIFF People’s Choice first runner-up, at its Red Carpet Premiere.In the lineup · AFI page (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Awards watch
Ten films in the program are their countries’ official submissions for the Academy Award® for Best International Feature Film, according to AFI’s announcement:
- 9 Temples to Heaven · Thailand
- All of a Sudden · Japan
- Citizen Osama (Al Mowaten Osama) · Palestine
- Elephants in the Fog · Nepal
- Everytime · Germany
- The Meltdown (El Deshielo) · Chile
- Nina Roza · Canada
- Possible Love · South Korea
- Rose · Austria
- We Are All Strangers · Singapore
Source: AFI FEST 2026 full-lineup press release (opens the official AFI site in a new tab). Follow the race on our Oscar Watch tracker.
Schedule & Tickets
All times Pacific · Per fest.afi.comEvery public screening AFI has scheduled, day by day, in Pacific Time. All screenings are at the TCL Chinese Theatres on Hollywood Boulevard; the venue names are AFI’s. Times and venues can change — the official film page linked on every line is the source of truth, and it is where AFI sells tickets.
- Individual ticketsOn sale October 3Sold by AFI on each film’s official page. Ticket information (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Festival passesOn sale nowPatron, Star, Marquee and Industry passes, sold by AFI. Pass details (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- VenueTCL Chinese TheatresHollywood Boulevard, Hollywood. AFI lists the Red Carpet Premieres at the TCL Chinese Theatre and the rest of the program on screens it calls Chinese 1–6.
Wednesday, October 21 13 screening slots
- 5:15 PMPossible Love · Lee Chang-dongChinese 1
- 6:10 PMBlack Money for White Nights · Kristina Grozeva and Petar ValchanovChinese 5
- 6:15 PMRose · Markus SchleinzerChinese 6
- 6:20 PMSoul Patrol · J.M. HarperChinese 3
- 6:30 PMCitizen Osama (Al Mowaten Osama) · Ahmed HassounaChinese 2
- 6:40 PMSumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing · Erik ShiraiChinese 4
- 7:30 PMWildwood · Opening NightTCL Chinese Theatre
- 8:45 PMEverytime · Sandra WollnerChinese 5
- 9:00 PMBucking Fastard · Werner HerzogChinese 1
- 9:00 PMIván & Hadoum · Ian de la RosaChinese 2
- 9:10 PMThe Face of Horror · Anna BillerChinese 6
- 9:15 PMA Bit of Light · Ali AsgariChinese 3
- 9:30 PMI See Buildings Fall Like Lightning · Clio BarnardChinese 4
Thursday, October 22 24 screening slots
- 11:45 AMThe Idiot(s) · Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał EnglertChinese 1
- 12:00 PMWe Are All Strangers · Anthony ChenChinese 6
- 12:15 PMGoodbye Cruel World (Adieu Monde Cruel) · Félix de GivryChinese 5
- 12:45 PMFlies (Moscas) · Fernando EimbckeChinese 3
- 1:45 PMConservatory Showcase 1Chinese 4
- 2:30 PMPossible Love · Lee Chang-dongChinese 1
- 2:45 PMYellow Letters (Gelbe Briefe) · İlker ÇatakChinese 5
- 3:00 PMThe Loneliest Man in Town · Tizza Covi and Rainer FrimmelChinese 2
- 3:15 PMI See Buildings Fall Like Lightning · Clio BarnardChinese 3
- 3:25 PMThe Beloved (El Ser Querido) · Rodrigo SorogoyenChinese 6
- 4:15 PMConservatory Showcase 2Chinese 4
- 5:30 PMA Bit of Light · Ali AsgariChinese 2
- 6:00 PMTrial of Hein (Der Heimatlose) · Kai StänickeChinese 5
- 6:15 PMElsinore · Simon StoneChinese 1
- 6:15 PMElephants in the Fog · Abinash Bikram ShahChinese 3
- 6:30 PMBunker · Florian ZellerChinese 6
- 6:45 PMThe Match · Juan Cabral and Santiago FracoChinese 4
- 7:30 PMThe Mosquito Bowl · Red Carpet PremiereTCL Chinese Theatre
- 8:15 PMShorts: Live Action 1Chinese 2
- 9:10 PMThe Friend’s House Is Here · Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam AtaeiChinese 5
- 9:15 PMGentle Monster · Marie KreutzerChinese 1
- 9:15 PMBedford Park · Stephanie AhnChinese 3
- 9:30 PMDiary of a Chambermaid (Femme de Chambre) · Radu JudeChinese 4
- 9:45 PMSalvation (Kurtuluş) · Emin AlperChinese 6
Friday, October 23 25 screening slots
- 11:30 AMConservatory Showcase 3Chinese 4
- 12:00 PMDiary of a Chambermaid (Femme de Chambre) · Radu JudeChinese 6
- 12:30 PMThis Is How a Child Becomes a Poet + Tutti Frutti (double feature)Chinese 5
- 12:40 PMSalvation (Kurtuluş) · Emin AlperChinese 2
- 12:45 PMGentle Monster · Marie KreutzerChinese 1
- 1:00 PMBlack Money for White Nights · Kristina Grozeva and Petar ValchanovChinese 3
- 2:00 PMConservatory Showcase 4Chinese 4
- 2:30 PMA Man of His Time (Notre Salut) · Emmanuel MarreChinese 5
- 2:30 PMThe Day She Returns + Nowhere to Lay My Eyes (double feature)Chinese 6
- 3:30 PMShorts: Live Action 2Chinese 2
- 3:45 PMBucking Fastard · Werner HerzogChinese 1
- 3:45 PMThe Match · Juan Cabral and Santiago FracoChinese 3
- 4:20 PMConservatory Showcase 5Chinese 4
- 6:00 PMStealing Magic · Matthew TestaChinese 5
- 6:15 PMMouse · Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex ThompsonChinese 6
- 6:20 PMOne in a Million · Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnesChinese 3
- 6:25 PMBehemoth! · Tony GilroyChinese 1
- 6:30 PMShorts: Documentary 1Chinese 2
- 6:45 PMNuisance Bear · Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack WeismanChinese 4
- 8:45 PMJail Time Records · Dione Roach and Steve HappiChinese 5
- 9:15 PMI Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies · Mani HaghighiChinese 3
- 9:20 PMShorts: After DarkChinese 2
- 9:30 PMProsecution (Staatsschutz) · Faraz ShariatChinese 4
- 9:30 PMThe Man I Love · Ira SachsChinese 6
- 10:00 PMFull Phil · Quentin DupieuxChinese 1
Saturday, October 24 27 screening slots
- 10:30 AMMaverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean · Barnaby ThompsonChinese 6
- 11:00 AMBitter Christmas (Amarga Navidad) · Pedro AlmodóvarChinese 1
- 11:00 AMWe Are Aliens · Kohei KadowakiChinese 4
- 11:10 AMThis Is How a Child Becomes a Poet + Tutti Frutti (double feature)Chinese 5
- 11:30 AMShorts: Animation 1Chinese 2
- 11:45 AMEdward Said: Between Worlds · Maiken BairdChinese 3
- 1:00 PMRehearsals for a Revolution · Pegah AhangaraniChinese 5
- 1:15 PMClarissa · Arie Esiri and Chuko EsiriChinese 6
- 2:00 PMJosephine · Beth de AraújoChinese 1
- 2:00 PMPretenders · Joss CrowleyChinese 4
- 2:00 PMI Play Rocky · Red Carpet PremiereTCL Chinese Theatre
- 2:15 PMShorts: Animation 2Chinese 2
- 2:45 PMForever Your Maternal Animal (Siempre Soy Tu Animal Materno) · Valentina MaurelChinese 3
- 3:45 PMFlies (Moscas) · Fernando EimbckeChinese 5
- 5:00 PMShorts: Documentary 2Chinese 2
- 5:15 PMSummer 2000: The X-Cetra Story · Ayden MayeriChinese 4
- 5:30 PMTangles · Leah NelsonChinese 1
- 5:45 PMFlesh and Fuel · Pierre Le GallChinese 3
- 6:30 PMYellow Letters (Gelbe Briefe) · İlker ÇatakChinese 5
- 7:00 PMMy Brother’s Killer · Rachel MasonChinese 6
- 7:30 PMAn Evening with Phil Lord and Chris Miller: 2001: A Space Odyssey · Stanley KubrickTCL Chinese Theatre
- 8:00 PMBen’imana · Marie-Clémentine DusabejamboChinese 2
- 8:15 PMLa Gradiva · Marine AtlanChinese 4
- 8:30 PMThe Meltdown (El Deshielo) · Manuela MartelliChinese 3
- 8:45 PMWild Horse Nine · Martin McDonaghChinese 1
- 9:30 PMToo Many Beasts (L’Espèce Explosive) · Sarah ArnoldChinese 5
- 9:45 PMHarold and Maude · Hal AshbyChinese 6
Sunday, October 25 27 screening slots
- 11:00 AMA Long Winter · Andrew HaighChinese 1
- 11:10 AMRevolutionaries Never Die · Mohanad YaqubiChinese 3
- 11:15 AMA Man of His Time (Notre Salut) · Emmanuel MarreChinese 2
- 11:15 AMThe Muppet Movie · James FrawleyChinese 6
- 11:20 AMIron Boy · Louis ClichyChinese 5
- 11:30 AMTender Loving Care · Mike LeighChinese 4
- 1:00 PMRay Gunn · Red Carpet PremiereTCL Chinese Theatre
- 1:25 PMChronicles from the Siege · Abdallah AlkhatibChinese 3
- 1:45 PMNina Roza · Geneviève Dulude-De CellesChinese 5
- 1:45 PMAll of a Sudden · Ryusuke HamaguchiChinese 6
- 2:00 PMAshes (Ceniza en la Boca) · Diego LunaChinese 1
- 2:15 PMUnion Town · Barbara KoppleChinese 4
- 2:45 PMForest High · Manon CoubiaChinese 2
- 4:15 PMGoodbye Cruel World (Adieu Monde Cruel) · Félix de GivryChinese 3
- 4:40 PMQueen at Sea · Lance HammerChinese 5
- 5:15 PMThe Beloved (El Ser Querido) · Rodrigo SorogoyenChinese 1
- 5:15 PMThe Loneliest Man in Town · Tizza Covi and Rainer FrimmelChinese 2
- 5:20 PM9 Temples to Heaven · Sompot ChidgasornpongseChinese 4
- 6:00 PM14th · Ava DuVernayChinese 6
- 6:40 PMAt Night · Beatrice GibsonChinese 3
- 7:30 PMThe Station (Al Mahattah) · Sara IshaqChinese 2
- 7:30 PMBeing Heumann · Closing NightTCL Chinese Theatre
- 8:00 PMWe Are All Strangers · Anthony ChenChinese 5
- 8:30 PMParallel Tales (Histoires Parallèles) · Asghar FarhadiChinese 1
- 8:30 PMThe Best Summer · Tamra DavisChinese 4
- 9:00 PMRififi (Du Rififi chez les Hommes) · Jules DassinChinese 3
- 9:15 PMThe Idiot(s) · Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał EnglertChinese 6
Schedule copied from the official AFI FEST film guide on September 29, 2026; AFI’s site does not state a time zone and the festival is in Los Angeles, so all times are Pacific. Post-screening conversations are noted on the film cards where AFI lists them. Links open the official AFI site in a new tab.
Reviews & Discoveries
Automatic · From our published reviews-
Ray Gunn Review: Brad Bird’s Sci-Fi Noir Takes Aim at Surveillance, AI Fakes and Xenophobia
Brad Bird’s animated noir puts Sam Rockwell’s down-on-his-luck detective, Scarlett Johansson’s pop star and Tom Waits’ one-eyed alien partner inside a city that’s always…
Festival discoveries Films we saw at AFI FEST and want you to know about
Interviews & Red Carpet
Original Nerd Wire conversations-
Tony Gilroy Needed a Sanctuary After Andor. In Behemoth!, Pedro Pascal Became His Exclamation Point
Tony Gilroy wanted a sanctuary after Andor. At AFI FEST, he, Pedro Pascal, Kaya Ralls, John Gilroy and three of Behemoth!’s nine composers explained…
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A Country Dog: Ryan Nielsen on Bringing Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Renegade’ Home to Iowa
Ahead of A Country Dog’s AFI FEST world premiere, writer-director Ryan Nielsen and producer Frank D’Argenio talk adapting Shirley Jackson, “Midwest nice” and a…
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The Mosquito Bowl: Bill Skarsgård, Peter Berg and Cast on Honoring the Real Marines at AFI FEST
At the film’s AFI FEST world premiere, Bill Skarsgård described standing where Marine Bob Bauman died on Okinawa, and Peter Berg brought the people…
Red carpet & festival Q&As Reported from the TCL Chinese Theatres
Festival Information
Official AFI links- DatesOctober 21–25, 2026Wednesday to Sunday
- LocationTCL Chinese TheatresHollywood, Los Angeles
- Program157 films · 50 countries40th edition · Presented by Canva
- Opening & closingWildwood · Being HeumannOctober 21 · October 25
AFI FEST is the American Film Institute’s annual film festival in Hollywood, now in its 40th edition and presented by Canva. The 2026 program runs across Red Carpet Premieres, Special Screenings, Luminaries, Discovery, World Cinema, Documentary, After Dark, a Guest Artistic Directors strand curated by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the Short Film Competition and the AFI Conservatory Showcase. AFI FEST is an Academy Awards®-qualifying festival for the live action, animated and documentary short film categories and for the British short film categories of the BAFTA Film Awards and BIFA. Introducing the lineup, AFI’s Todd Hitchcock said: “Our 40th edition of AFI FEST celebrates the cinematic artistry of bold, inspiring filmmakers from around the world.”
Festival passes are on sale now from AFI, and individual tickets go on sale October 3. Everything about attending, including prices, comes from AFI directly.
Official AFI FEST links
- Official websiteFEST.AFI.com (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Film guideEvery film, with AFI’s full notes (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- PassesFestival passes, sold by AFI (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- TicketsIndividual tickets, on sale October 3 (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- AnnouncementFull 2026 lineup press release (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Press releasesAll AFI FEST announcements (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Opening NightWildwood announcement (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
- Closing NightBeing Heumann announcement (opens the official AFI site in a new tab)
Every link above is official AFI information and opens in a new tab.
About this coverage
The Nerd Wire is covering AFI FEST 2026 as accredited press. Our credentials do not provide reader access to screenings, and we don’t sell or hold tickets. Film sections, premiere designations, dates, times and venues on this page come from AFI’s official film guide and announcements and can change; listing a film here, or on our watchlist, does not mean The Nerd Wire has seen it or will attend its screening, and nothing here states who will attend a screening. Film stills are from the films’ official AFI FEST pages and are credited on each card.
The Nerd Wire is an independent entertainment publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the American Film Institute, AFI FEST or Canva. Festival names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Questions, corrections or interview requests may be sent through our contact page.