‘All Of A Sudden,’ ‘Fatherland’ & ‘Misty Green’ Among 2026 New York Film Festival Main Slate Selections [Complete List]

The Venice Film Festival has announced its lineup. The Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled most of its significant and expansive class. Today, after previously announcing opening night and centerpiece films, the New York Film Festival selection committee dropped its 2026 class. And there were seemingly more snubs than usual. Well, for now at least.

Currently, there are just four world premieres: Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!,” Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero,” Ava DuVernay’s “14th,” and Turkish director Mani Haghighi’s “I Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies.” That’s a healthy number considering the New York Film Festival is curated as a “best of the best” endeavor. Then again, it’s possible titles not announced today could be added to the mix. Last year, Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme” was a secret screening toward the end of the festival that technically was a world premiere.

READ MORE: Martin McDonagh’s ‘Wild Horse Nine,’ Danny Boyle’s ‘Ink’ And Werner Herzog’s ‘Bucking Fastard’ Set For 2026 Venice International Film Festival [Complete Lineup]

As for the official titles, there are now 15 films that previously screened at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival: James Gray’s opening night drama “Paper Tiger,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden,” Pedro Almoovar’s “Bitter Christmas,” Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Fatherland,” Ira Sachs’ “The Man I Love,” Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s “9 Temples To Heaven,” Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Minotaur,” Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri’s “Clarissa,” Radu Jude’s “The Diary of a Chambermaid,” Lisandro Alonso’s “Double Freedom,” Valeska Grisebach’s “The Dreamed Adventure,” Sandra Wollner’s “Everytime,” Marine Atlan’s “La Gradiva,” Emmanuel Marre’s “A Man of His Time,” and Arthur Harari’s “The Unknown.” Somehow Cristian Mungiu‘s Palm d’Or winner “Fjord” and Best Director winner Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s “La Bola Negra” were not invited. At least in this capacity.

Markus Schleinzer’s “Rose,” Angela Schanelec’s “My Wife Cries,” Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel’s “The Loneliest Man in Town,” Alain Gomis’s “Dao,” Nicolás Pereda’s “Everything Else Is Noise,” and Hong Sangsoo’s “The Day She Returns” give the 2026 Berlin Film Festival its largest class in years while the Golden Bear winner itself, İlker Çatak’s “Yellow Leaves,” somehow did not make the initial cut.

William Greaves and David Greaves’ celebrated documentary “Once Upon A Time In Harlem” holds the fort as the sole 2026 Sundance Film Festival selection.

Two unannounced but expected Telluride Film Festival world premieres will also screen, Andrew Haigh’s “A Long Winter” and Mike Leigh’s “Tender Loving Care.” Chris Rock’s “Misty Green” is the surprising Toronto International Film Festival debut arriving in Manhattan for a showcase. Shockingly, or perhaps not, Julia Loktev’s “My Undesirable Friends: Part II” and Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love” are currently the sole Venice Film Festival invitees.

Lisandro Alonso’s “I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming” and Hong Sang-soo’s “Nowhere to Lay My Eyes” are two rare Locarno Film Festival selections.

Films beyond “Fjord” and “La Bola Negra” that will raise eyebrows for not making the cut include Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine” (although NYFF has never invited him), Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut” (which many assumed was a lock), Danny Boyle’s “Ink,” Werner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastard,” Noah Segan’s “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” Beth de Araújo‘s Sundance winner “Josephine,” Jordan Firstman’s “Club Kid,” and Simone Stone’s “Elsinore,” although its possible some of these titles were not screened in time for the committee to consider their inclusion. If one were to speculate, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Digger” could be a surprise screening before its October 2nd release, but that may be wishful thinking among the New York cinephile set. Moreover, a few of these titles may be part of the Spotlight selections revealed next week.

In a statement, Dennis Lim, Artistic Director, New York Film Festival, noted, “It’s hard to recall a prior Main Slate program in which the state of the world has been as urgently reflected in so many creative ways. You could take any cross-section of this lineup and come away with a vivid picture of what our present looks, sounds, and feels like. I’m deeply encouraged to be able to introduce New York audiences to works by so many fearless, imaginative directors whose artistry has been inspired by the shared realities of our world.”

The complete rundown, as of now, is as follows:

Opening Night: Paper Tiger (James Gray)
Centerpiece: Behemoth! (Tony Gilroy)
Closing Night: 14th (Ava DuVernay)

9 Temples to Heaven (Sompot Chidgasornpongse)
All of a Sudden (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)
Bitter Christmas (Pedro Almodóvar)
Clarissa (Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri)
Dao (Alain Gomis)
The Day She Returns (Hong Sangsoo)
I Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies (Mani Haghighi)
The Diary of a Chambermaid (Radu Jude)
Double Freedom (Lisandro Alonso)
The Dreamed Adventure (Valeska Grisebach)
Everything Else Is Noise (Nicolás Pereda)
Everytime (Sandra Wollner)
Fatherland (Paweł Pawlikowski)
La Gradiva (Marine Atlan)
I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming (Isabelle Stever)
The Loneliest Man in Town (Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel)
A Long Winter (Andrew Haigh)
The Man I Love (Ira Sachs)
A Man of His Time (Emmanuel Marre)
Minotaur (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
Misty Green (Chris Rock)
My Undesirable Friends: Part II – Exile (Julia Loktev)
My Wife Cries (Angela Schanelec)
Nowhere To Lay My Eyes (Hong Sangsoo)
Once Upon a Time in Harlem (William Greaves and David Greaves)
Possible Love (Lee Chang-dong)
Rose (Markus Schleinzer)
Tender Loving Care (Mike Leigh)
The Unknown (Arthur Harari)

The 64th New York Film Festival runs from September 25 to October 12.

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