San Quentin Film Festival Sets 2026 Selections, Lynn Novick Preview
The 2026 San Quentin Film Festival runs Oct. 22–23, with a preview of Lynn Novick's PBS series Crime and Punishment in America on Oct. 21.
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed the official selections and full program for the 2026 San Quentin Film Festival, which will be held Oct. 22–23 at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in Marin County, California.
The festival opens with a preview night on Oct. 21, when the first hour of Lynn Novick's four-part PBS documentary series Crime and Punishment in America will screen for San Quentin residents. The series, produced with Ken Burns, airs over four consecutive nights on PBS beginning Nov. 16, 2026, and will stream on PBS digital platforms for four weeks.
Organizers received 75 submissions for the festival's competition and 68 submissions for its pitch competition, drawing from incarcerated writers at 20 U.S. facilities and one in Panama.
Official selections can be screened from Oct. 26 to Nov. 8 via screening passes available for sale.
Returning for a Third Year
SQFF26 marks the third-annual installment of the festival, the only film festival held inside a U.S. prison. The Long Short category, comprising films running up to 40 minutes, is new this year. At the 2024 edition, Kevin D. Sawyer, former editor-in-chief of San Quentin News, received the Best Pitch Award for his documentary project The History of Prison Journalism.
Quick answers
When is the 2026 San Quentin Film Festival?
It takes place Oct. 22–23, 2026, at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in Marin County, California, with a preview night on Oct. 21.
What screens on the festival's preview night?
The first hour of Lynn Novick's four-part PBS documentary series Crime and Punishment in America, shown for San Quentin residents.
How can the public watch the official selections?
Screening passes are available for sale, with selections viewable from Oct. 26 to Nov. 8.