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The American Film Institute has announced the complete lineup for AFI Fest 2026, presented by Canva, taking place in Hollywood from Oct. 21-25.
The 40th edition of the festival will screen 157 films across five red-carpet
premieres, 12 special screenings, 13 luminaries selections, 18 discovery titles, 16 world cinema selections, 17 documentaries and many more.
The festival will open with the U.S. premiere of animated feature “Wildwood” and close with biographical drama “Being Heumann.” Along with “Wildwood” and “Being Heumann,” other red carpet premieres include “I Play Rocky,” “The Mosquito Bowl” and “Ray Gunn.”
More titles among the festival’s slate are Werner Herzog’s highly anticipated “Bucking Fastard” starring Kate Mara and Rooney Mara, Andrew Haigh’s “A Long Winter” starring Fred Hechinger, Kit Connor, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Caitríona Balfe; and Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s “The Idiot(s)” starring Johnny Flynn and Aimee Lou Wood. There will also be screenings of “Behemoth,” “Clarissa,” “Elsinore,” “Wild Horse Nine” and “All of a Sudden.”
For the discovery section, films are chosen for including new voices that push the boundaries of contemporary cinema with cutting-edge themes and original visions. Among these are “9 Temples to Heaven,” the narrative feature debut from Thai filmmaker Sompot Chidgasornpongse, and Palestinian-Syrian filmmaker Abdallah Alkhatib’s debut “Chronicles From The Siege.”
The world cinema category celebrates the diversity of cultures through the shared language of cinema. Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beloved,” starring Javier Bardem, is one of these selected films. The five-day festival will also present screenings, panels and conversations featuring filmmakers, new voices in cinema and Q&As with casts and crews.
