AFI Fest 2026 Unveils 157-Film Lineup for 40th Edition

The American Film Institute has announced the complete lineup for AFI Fest 2026, presented by Canva. The 40th edition of the festival will run in Hollywood from October 21 to 25 and will screen 157 films.

The festival opens with the U.S. premiere of the animated feature Wildwood and closes with the biographical drama Being Heumann. Other red carpet premieres include I Play Rocky, The Mosquito Bowl and Ray Gunn.

Among the titles in the lineup are Werner Herzog's Bucking Fastard, starring Kate Mara and Rooney Mara, and Andrew Haigh's A Long Winter, starring Fred Hechinger, Kit Connor, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Caitríona Balfe. Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert's The Idiot(s), starring Johnny Flynn and Aimee Lou Wood, also joins the slate.

Screenings will include Behemoth, Clarissa, Elsinore, Wild Horse Nine and All of a Sudden. The discovery section features 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 includes Rodrigo Sorogoyen's The Beloved, starring Javier Bardem. Across the five days, the festival will present screenings, panels and conversations featuring filmmakers, new voices in cinema and Q&As with casts and crews, as reported by Variety.