43rd Annual Miami Film Festival Announces Lineup for 2026
The 43rd annual Miami Film Festival is held April 9-19, 2026 presented by Miami Dade College
Miami, FL (March 11, 2026) – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Miami Film Festival announced its acclaimed lineup for its upcoming 43rd edition, taking place April 9–19, 2026. This year’s festival will screen over 160 narratives, documentaries, and short films of all genres from 45 countries worldwide, including 40 World Premieres, 2 International Premieres, 11 North American Premieres, 5 U.S. Premieres, 23 East Coast Premieres, and 63 Florida Premieres.
Program highlights include the Opening Night presentation of Tuner, the Closing Night film Power Ballad, and the Centerpiece selections The Christophers and Poetic License.
Notable premieres include the World Premieres of documentaries such as Jon Kean’s The Hollywood Rabbi and Keanu Reeves-executive-produced Madwoman’s Game, as well as Peacock’s new South Florida-set series M.I.A., and Brazilian hacker thriller The King of the Internet. The lineup also features several North American Premieres, including the debut drama The Gymnast, starring Ethan Embry; football tragedy Heysel 85; Chilean political thriller The Red Hangar (Hangar Rojo); spy-comedy Comandante Fritz; and Flavia, an adaptation of the popular Flavia de Luce children’s book series starring Martin Freeman and Jonathan Pryce.
Other notable titles include Focus Features’ Obsession, Sony Pictures Classics’ I Swear, Magnolia Pictures’ Normal, Carolina Caroline and I Want Your Sex, NEON’s Hokum and Leviticus, and a Special Presentation of A24’s Sofia Coppola-directed Marc By Sofia about iconic fashion designer Marc Jacobs.
Marquee presentations include Over Your Dead Body, Everyone is Lying to You for Money, If I Go Will They Miss Me, and Forge.
Special events include the U.S. Premiere of musical biographical film Milly, Queen of Merengue at the Miami Beach Bandshell, with director Leticia Tonos Paniagua and legendary Dominican singer Milly Quezada in attendance; Whiplash in Concert, featuring a screening of the film accompanied by an 18-piece jazz band performing the film’s music live with composer Justin Hurwitz conducting; and a 25th anniversary screening of The Princess Diaries at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens.
“This year’s lineup showcases an extraordinary range of storytelling that reflects the richness of global cinema and the vibrant creative voices shaping the future of film,” said James Woolley, Executive Director. “We are proud to welcome audiences back for a dynamic celebration of film that connects Miami to the world.”
“This year’s lineup reflects an extraordinary moment for Miami Film Festival, featuring films from celebrated filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh, Sofia Coppola, Gregg Araki, and John Carney, alongside bold new discoveries from around the world,” said Lauren Cohen, Director of Programming. “With films from 45 countries and our largest-ever Made-in-MIA program, it’s a lineup that feels both truly global and authentically rooted in Miami’s filmmaking community.”
OPENING & CLOSING NIGHT FILMS
Miami Film Festival will open with the Black Bear Pictures film Tuner. In Tuner, Academy Award-winning director Daniel Roher’s first narrative feature, Leo Woodall stars as a gifted young piano tuner whose heightened sense of hearing draws the attention of criminals, who see his talents as useful for opening safes as well as for tuning Steinways. With his once-promising musical career over, he works across New York with his mentor Harry Horowitz (Academy Award-winner Dustin Hoffman), encountering a range of characters, including composition student Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), with whom he forges an unexpected connection. Niki’s safecracking work threatens his budding romance with Ruthie and pulls him into increasingly dangerous territory. Blending romance, drama, and the taut suspense of a heist thriller, Tuner also features performances from Tony Award-winner Tovah Feldshuh, Lior Raz, and Jean Reno.
The Festival will close with the Lionsgate film Power Ballad. When Rick (Paul Rudd), a past-his-prime wedding singer, meets fading boy-band star Danny (Nick Jonas) during a gig, the two bond over music and a late-night jam session. But when Danny turns one of Rick’s songs into the hit that reignites his career, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves – even if it means risking everything he cares about. From writer-director John Carney (Sing Street, Once), Power Ballad is a feel-good story about music, self-respect, friendship, and the price of ambition.
HONOREE SPOTLIGHT
The Miami Film Festival is proud to recognize the following honorees:
Adam Scott, who stars in NEON’s Hokum, will receive the Vanguard Award. Scott received rave reviews for his starring role in AppleTV’s Severance, for which Scott is also an executive producer, as well. For this role, he has received Emmy nominations, Golden Globe Award nominations, Actor Award nominations, Critics' Choice Award nominations and a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination. Scott is also well known for his role as 'Ben Wyatt' in the Emmy Award and Golden Globe-nominated series, Parks and Recreation.
Bob Odenkirk, who stars in Magnolia Pictures’ Normal, will receive the Precious Gem Award following a screening of the film. Odenkirk is an Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated writer, producer, actor, and New York Times bestselling author. In 2015, Bob Odenkirk reprised the character he originated on the hit drama Breaking Bad, playing the title role in Better Call Saul, which earned him a Critics Choice TV Award, six Emmy nominations, as well as Golden Globe, and SAG Award nominations.
Danielle Brooks, who stars in If I Go Will They Miss Me, will receive the Art of Light Award following a screening of the film. Danielle Brooks is an Oscar-nominated actress and Grammy Award-winning singer. Brooks rose to prominence for her role on Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black, where she received the Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series” three years in a row. Brooks also starred in The Color Purple, both in film and on Broadway, playing the role of ‘Sofia.’ These performances garnered her Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA, Critics Choice Award and Tony Award nominations and a Grammy Award.
Lili Reinhart, who stars in the TV series Hal & Harper, will receive the Art of Light Award following a screening of the first two episodes of the series. Lili Reinhart is an actress, producer, founder, and a New York Times bestselling author. In addition to Hal & Harper, she can currently be seen starring in IFC Films’ Forbidden Fruits. Reinhart is well known for playing Betty Cooper in the TV series Riverdale.
Matt Bomer, who stars in the upcoming Apple Original Film Outcome, will receive the Vanguard Award and will participate in a live recording of the Happy Sad Confused podcast hosted by Josh Horowitz.Bomer is a Golden Globe Award, Critics’ Choice Award winning and Emmy® Award nominated actor for his role in The Normal Heart. Additional projects Bomer is well known for include his work in shows such as Fellow Travelers, White Collar, Mid-Century Modern and films such as Magic Mike, and Maestro.
Sonia Manzano will receive the Impact Award following a screening of Street Smart: Lessons From a TV Icon. Manzano is best known for her role of ‘Maria’ on Sesame Street, where her work has garnered her two Emmy Award nominations in addition to the National Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy in 2016. As a writer for the show, she has won 15 Emmys. Her most recent accomplishment was creating a children’s program, Alma’s Way, for PBS KIDs for which she has won the Imagen Awards for Best Youth Programing, a 2022 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Preschool Animated Program and a 2023 NAACP nomination for an Image Award.
Photos courtesy of Miami Film Festival (left to right): Adam Scott HS Photo by Leigh Keily, Danielle Brooks Photo by Mat Hayward, Matt Bomer Photo by Brian Bowen Smith, Lili Reinhart Photo by Sebastian Nevols, Bob Headshot Photo by Erin OdenkirkMARQUEES & CENTERPIECE SCREENINGS
Four MARQUEE screenings will be presented with talent in attendance for extended and in-depth post-screening Q&As. These include:
Everyone is Lying to You for Money (United States, directed by Ben McKenzie)
TV star Ben McKenzie (The O.C., Gotham) swaps scripts for scams in his documentary debut. Adapting his New York Times bestselling book “Easy Money,” McKenzie turns his wit and economic savvy on the wild world of crypto, chasing the bigger story of greed, hope, and con artists in a modern gold rush. Director Ben McKenzie will be in attendance.
Forge (United States, directed by Jing Ai Ng) – Florida Premiere
In Miami, siblings Raymond and Coco Zhang’s art forgery ring flourishes when they encounter a disgraced millionaire in need of their expertise. Meanwhile, FBI Art Crimes agent Emily Lee moves to Miami to investigate a series of mysterious paintings. Director Jing Ai Ng will be in attendance.
If I Go Will They Miss Me (United States, directed by Walter Thompson-Hernandez) – Florida Premiere.
Twelve-year-old Lil Ant transforms his working-class neighborhood beneath the LAX flight path into a living mythology, where family members become gods and the sky is crowded with endless departures. As he searches for connection with his god-like yet conflicted father, he finds support in his close-knit community that helps him reconcile myth and reality. Actress Danielle Brookswill be in attendance.
Over Your Dead Body (United States, directed by Jorma Taccone) – East Coast Premiere. A dysfunctional couple head to a remote cabin to supposedly reconnect, but each secretly plans to kill each other. Director Jorma Taccone will be in attendance.
Two CENTERPIECE screenings will be presented:
The Christophers(United Kingdom, directed by Steven Soderbergh)– Florida Premiere. The children of a once famous artist (Ian McKellen) hire a forger (Michaela Coel) to complete some unfinished, long ago abandoned canvases so they’ll have an inheritance when he dies. A NEON release.
Poetic License (United States, directed by Maude Apatow) – Florida Premiere.
Maude Apatow’s sharp and heartfelt debut feature, Poetic License follows a middle aged mother Liz (Leslie Mann), as she becomes the unexpected point of tension between Sam (Andrew Barth Feldman) and Ari (Cooper Hoffman), two inseparable best friends and college seniors. A Row K release.
AWARD COMPETITIONS
The $10,000MARIMBAS Award is an international competition for new narrative feature films that best exemplify richness and resonance for cinema’s future. (A marimba is a variation of a xylophone that produces a deeper, richer and more resonant tone than a traditional xylophone. The marimba originated in Guatemala and Central America approximately 400 years ago and remains popular to this day in a wide variety of musical disciplines. The name of Miami Film Festival’s award is inspired by its 2011 winner, Julio Hernández Cordón’s Marimbas from Hell, which embodies the spirit of forward-looking cinema.) Films chosen for this year’s MARIMBAS Award are:
Adult Children(United States, directed by Rich Newey) – Florida Premiere
Broken Voices(Czech Republic, directed by Ondřej Provazník) – Florida Premiere
Carolina Caroline(United States, directed by Adam Carter Rehmeier) – Florida Premiere
Comandante Fritz(Germany, directed by Pavel Giroud) – North American Premiere
El Regresado(Cuba, directed by Armando Capo) – World Premiere
Erupcja(United States, directed by Pete Ohs) – Florida Premiere
Flavia(United Kingdom, directed by Bharat Nalluri) – North American Premiere
Heysel 85(Belgium, directed by Teodora Ana Mihai) – North American Premiere
Hokum(United States, directed by Damian McCarthy) – Florida Premiere
I Swear(United Kingdom, directed by Kirk Jones) – East Coast Premiere
I Want Your Sex(United States, directed by Gregg Araki) – Florida Premiere
Ky Nam Inn(Vietnam, directed by Leon Le) – East Coast Premiere
La Gioia(Italy, directed by Nicolangelo Gelormini) – Florida Premiere
Ladies' Hunting Party (Día de caza) (Spain, directed by Pedro Aguilera) – North American Premiere
Levitating (Para Perasuk) (Indonesia, directed by Wregas Bhanuteja) – East Coast Premiere
Maspalomas(Spain, directed by Aitor Arregi & José Mari Goenaga) – Florida Premiere
Melodrama(Dominican Republic, directed by Andrés Farías) – U.S. Premiere
Milly, Queen of Merengue(Dominican Republic, directed by Leticia Tonos Paniagua) – U.S. Premiere
Mouse (United States, directed by Kenny Oiwa Riches) – Florida Premiere
My Friend Eva(Spain, directed by Cesc Gay) – North American Premiere
Normal(United States, directed by Ben Wheatley) – Florida Premiere
On the Road (En El Camino)(Mexico, directed by David Pablos)
Over Your Dead Body (United States, directed by Jorma Taccone) – East Coast Premiere
Romería(Spain, directed by Carla Simón) – Florida Premiere
Silent Friend(Germany, directed by Ildikó Enyedi) – Florida Premiere
Sore: A Wife From the Future(Indonesia, directed by Yandy Laurens) – Florida Premiere
Tape(Hong Kong, directed by Bizhan M. Tong) – East Coast Premiere
The Blue Trail(Brazil, directed by Gabriel Mascaro) – Florida Premiere
The Christophers(United Kingdom, directed by Steven Soderbergh) – Florida Premiere
The Cost of Heaven(Canada, directed by Mathieu Denis) – East Coast Premiere
The Dinner(Spain,directed by Manuel Gómez Pereira) – North American Premiere
The King of the Internet (Brazil, directed by Fabrício Bittar) – World Premiere
The Last One for the Road(Italy, directed by Francesco Sossai) – Florida Premiere
The Soundman(Belgium, directed by Frank Van Passel) – Florida Premiere
Three Goodbyes(Italy, directed by Isabel Coixet) – Florida Premiere
Under the Same Sun(Dominican Republic, directed by Ulises Porra) – US Premiere
The $10,000 Jordan Ressler First Feature Award is sponsored by the South Florida family of the late Jordan Ressler, an aspiring screenwriter and Cornell University Film Studies graduate who, during his brief entertainment career, held production positions on the original production of Broadway hit Jersey Boys before passing away in a tragic accident at the age of 23. A total of 19 films will compete for the Award:
1001 Frames (Iran, directed by Mehrnoush Alia) – East Coast Premiere
A Mosquito in the Ear (United States, directed by Nicola Rinciari) – Florida Premiere
Blue Heron (Canada, directed by Sophy Romvari) – Florida Premiere
Dancing on the Elephant (Canada, directed by Julia Neill & Jacob Z. Smith) – East Coast Premiere
Edie Arnold is a Loser (United States, directed by Megan Rico & Kade Atwood) – East Coast Premiere
Happy Birthday (Egypt, directed by Sarah Goher) – Florida Premiere
Honeyjoon (United States, directed by Lilian T. Mehrel) – Florida Premiere
If I Go Will They Miss Me (United States, directed by Walter Thompson-Hernandez) – Florida Premiere
Leviticus (Australia, directed by Adrian Chiarella) – Florida Premiere
Maddie's Secret (United States, directed by John Early) – Florida Premiere
No Salgas (Dominican Republic, directed by Victoria Linares Villegas) – North American Premiere
Obsession (United States, directed by Curry Barker) – Florida Premiere
Poetic License (United States, directed by Maude Apatow) – Florida Premiere
Second Victims (Denmark, directed by Zinnini Elkington) – North American Premiere
Serena (United States, directed by Rob Alicea) – East Coast Premiere
The Gymnast (United States, directed by Charlotte Glynn) – North American Premiere
The Musical (United States, directed by Giselle Bonilla) – East Coast Premiere
The Red Hangar (Hangar Rojo) (Chile, directed by Juan Pablo Sallato) – North American Premiere
This Tempting Madness (United States, directed by Jennifer Montgomery) – East Coast Premiere
For the ninth edition of the Festival’s Made in MIA Award competition, the Festival will award a cash prize of $15,000. The Made in MIA feature film award is a competition for jury-selected films of any genre that feature a qualitatively and quantitatively substantial portion of their content (story, setting and actual filming location) in South Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and/or Monroe counties) and that best utilize their stories and themes for universal resonance. The feature films competing for this award are:
An Instrumental Start: A Model for the Nation (United States, directed by Brian Bayerl & Mike Huter) – World Premiere
Dual Citizen (United States, directed by Rachelle Salnave) – World Premiere
Eva y Adán en Miami (United States, directed by Lilo Vilaplana) – World Premiere
Forge (United States, directed by Jing Ai Ng) – Florida Premiere
Miami Stories (United States, directed by Eliecer Jiménez Almeida) – World Premiere
Por La Vida (United States, directed by Gonzalo Mejía) – World Premiere
Rope Tied (United States, directed by Chiara Padejka & Evan Friedmann) – East Coast Premiere
The Mecca: Legends of Traz Powell Stadium (United States, directed by Nicanson Guerrier) – World Premiere
The Old Man and the Parrot (United States, directed by Gabriel de Varona) – East Coast Premiere
Tropical Park (United States, directed by Hansel Porras Garcia) – Florida Premiere
Uncle Roly (United States, directed by Dennis Velazquez) – World Premiere
When Men Dance (United States, directed by Abbas A. Motlagh) – World Premiere
Seventeen films will compete for the $5,000 Made in MIA Short Film Award, sponsored by ArtesMiami. They are the following:
"Are You Having Fun?," directed by Nicole Cone – Florida Premiere
"Beach Towel Art Show," directed by David Hamzik – World Premiere
For more visit https://miamifilmfestival.com/ and learn how you can join & support.