Updated September 25, 2026, with the complete festival program.
The 15th Montclair Film Festival runs October 16 through 25, 2026, and Montclair Film has now released the complete lineup: roughly 70 feature films, more than 70 short films, and a slate of panels, conversations and free community events at The Wellmont Theater, The Clairidge, The Bellevue Theatre, Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School and other venues around town.
Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine” opens the festival, Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!” closes it, and Stephen Colbert, Jesse Eisenberg, Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, Ava DuVernay, Rachel Maddow and John Turturro are all headed to Montclair. Here is everything you need to know, plus a searchable guide to every film in the program.
Montclair Film Festival 2026 at a Glance
- Dates: Friday, October 16, through Sunday, October 25, 2026
- Opening night: “Wild Horse Nine,” October 16, 7 p.m., The Wellmont Theater
- Closing night: “Behemoth!,” October 25, 5 p.m., MKA Upper School
- Tickets: Members on Monday, September 28, at 10 a.m.; general public on Thursday, October 1, at 10 a.m., at festival.montclairfilm.org
- Main venues: The Wellmont Theater, The Clairidge, The Bellevue Theatre, MKA Upper School, the Audible Lounge at Montclair Mezzanine and Cinema505
- Free event: Meet Us on Church Street, a family-friendly day of activities on October 24
Search Every Film in the 2026 Lineup
Look up a single film by title, director, guest or venue, or browse the program by day or category, including gala screenings, films in competition, and events where filmmakers and stars appear in person. Step through results one at a time, or open the list to jump straight to a title. Every entry lists its showtimes and links to its ticket page on Montclair Film’s site.
Search, or browse by day and category.
Loading films… If nothing appears, see the complete list of 2026 films further down this page.
Opening and Closing Night Films
The festival opens October 16 at 7 p.m. at The Wellmont Theater with Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine.” Set just before the 1973 Chilean coup, the film follows CIA agents Chris and Lee, played by John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, after their bureau chief, played by Steve Buscemi, sends them from Santiago to Easter Island. Once there, Chris forms a bond with two students, played by Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas, and that relationship complicates the job the agents were sent to do. Tom Waits and Parker Posey round out the cast.
Closing night belongs to Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!,” which screens October 25 at 5 p.m. at MKA Upper School. Pedro Pascal plays Alex Serian, a cellist who returns to Los Angeles after 20 years on the road and has to face a family of prominent musicians while he works out where he still fits. Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor, Will Arnett and Hank Azaria co-star. Gilroy has described it as a movie about movie music, set among the studio musicians who perform Hollywood film scores. Gilroy receives the festival’s Filmmaker Tribute after the screening, in a conversation moderated by Stephen Colbert.
The 2026 Centerpiece Films
Three centerpiece films anchor the lineup, one each for animation, fiction and documentary.
Animation: “Ray Gunn.” Brad Bird directs Sam Rockwell as a private investigator in Metropia, an alternate-future city styled after 1939, working a case that pulls in aliens, a murder and a multimedia star played by Scarlett Johansson. It screens October 17 at 4 p.m. at The Wellmont Theater.
Fiction: “Elsinore.” Simon Stone directs Andrew Scott as actor Ian Charleson, opposite Olivia Colman, as Charleson prepares to play Hamlet at London’s National Theatre while dying of AIDS. It screens October 18 at 7:30 p.m. at MKA Upper School.
Documentary: “14th.” Ava DuVernay’s documentary traces who the 14th Amendment protects and who has historically fallen outside that protection. It screens October 23 at 7:30 p.m. at MKA Upper School, followed by a conversation between DuVernay and Stephen Colbert.
Star Guests and Q&As
Several screenings include filmmakers and actors in person:
- “The Debut”: Writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg, Paul Giamatti and Julianne Moore in conversation with Stephen Colbert, who lives in Montclair and has hosted festival conversations for years. October 24, 7:30 p.m., MKA Upper School.
- “Kill. Bury. Print.”: Director Ben Klein and producer Rachel Maddow take questions after the screening. October 17, 8 p.m., The Wellmont Theater.
- “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York”: John Turturro joins a Q&A after Noah Segan’s film. October 21, 7:30 p.m., The Bellevue Theatre.
- “The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd”: Writer, director and star Tim Blake Nelson. October 19, 7:30 p.m., The Bellevue Theatre.
- “The Good Life”: Susie Essman. October 22, 7 p.m., The Bellevue Theatre.
- “Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies”: Writer, director and star Edward Burns. October 24, 7:30 p.m., The Clairidge.
- “The Search”: Film historian Karina Longworth, host of the podcast “You Must Remember This,” introduces Fred Zinnemann’s 1948 classic. October 24, 7:30 p.m., The Bellevue Theatre.
Who Montclair Film Is Honoring in 2026
Five filmmakers and performers receive festival awards, each presented after a screening of their film:
| Honoree | Award | Screening |
|---|---|---|
| Beth de Araújo | Breakthrough Director Award | “Josephine”, Oct. 18, 7 p.m., The Bellevue Theatre |
| Stephen Beresford | Screenwriter Award | “Elsinore”, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m., MKA Upper School |
| Jack O’Connell | Performer Award | “Ink”, Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m., MKA Upper School |
| Ava DuVernay | Documentary Filmmaker Award | “14th”, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m., MKA Upper School |
| Tony Gilroy | Filmmaker Tribute | “Behemoth!”, Oct. 25, 5 p.m., MKA Upper School |
De Araújo is being recognized for what the festival calls a compassionate look at trauma and human responsibility, and Beresford for his “Elsinore” script and its portrait of friendship and community during the 1980s AIDS epidemic. O’Connell plays newspaper editor Larry Lamb in Danny Boyle’s “Ink.” (The Bellevue reopened during last year’s festival after eight years dark.)
The David Carr Award: “Kill. Bury. Print.”
“Kill. Bury. Print.,” directed by Ben Klein and produced by Rachel Maddow, follows an escalating standoff between a community newspaper and the sheriff of the Oklahoma county it covers. It receives the 2026 David Carr Award for Truth in Non-Fiction Filmmaking, named for the late New York Times media columnist and longtime Montclair resident, who died in 2015. The documentary premieres on Peacock on September 27, before its festival screening.
Films in Competition
Juries will pick winners in three feature categories and three short film categories:
- Documentary Feature Competition (for the Bruce Sinofsky Award): “Closure,” “The Great Experiment,” “One in a Million,” “Rehearsals for a Revolution” and “When a Witness Recants”
- Fiction Feature Competition: “All of a Sudden,” “Fatherland,” “Minotaur,” “Possible Love” and “Rose”
- Future/Now Competition (for emerging filmmakers; the winner receives the $5,000 Mark Urman Award): “Bedford Park,” “Jackrabbit,” “Mallory’s Ghost,” “Mudville” and “TheyDream”
- Short film competitions: documentary, fiction and New Jersey shorts, including six films by New Jersey filmmakers
Panels, Talks and Free Community Events
Most talks take place in the Audible Lounge at Montclair Mezzanine. Highlights include a conversation with “I Play Rocky” star Stephan James (October 18), “Art Can Save Our Democracy,” a panel with leaders from Montclair Art Museum, Jazz House Kids, Vanguard Theater Group and Montclair Film (October 19), and “Breaking Into the Business,” a guide to New Jersey’s film and TV industry (October 22). There is also a StorySlam (October 21) and a night of Montclair Improv Comedy at Cinema505 (October 22).
On Saturday, October 24, Meet Us on Church Street brings free, family-friendly live events and activities downtown with Montclair’s Complete Streets. Montclair Film says more details will come in early October.
When Do Montclair Film Festival Tickets Go on Sale?
Montclair Film members get first access on Monday, September 28, at 10 a.m. The general public can buy tickets starting Thursday, October 1, at 10 a.m. Tickets for all events are sold at festival.montclairfilm.org, where you can also browse the full schedule.
In announcing the program, Tom Hall, artistic director of Montclair Film, said: “Bringing artists and audiences together in conversation is what makes our festival special.” (Hall joined us last fall to preview the 2025 festival on the podcast.)
Complete List of 2026 Films
Tap to expand the full list of feature and short films in this year’s program.
All 74 feature films
- 14th, directed by Ava DuVernay
- Act One, directed by Sophia Takal
- Adam’s Apple, directed by Amy Jenkins
- All of a Sudden, directed by Ryūsuke Hamaguchi
- Auntie Mame, directed by Morton DaCosta
- Avedon, directed by Ron Howard
- Bedford Park, directed by Stephanie Ahn
- Behemoth!, directed by Tony Gilroy
- Being Heumann, directed by Siân Heder
- The Beloved, directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
- Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies, directed by Edward Burns
- Bitter Christmas, directed by Pedro Almodóvar
- La Bola Negra, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi
- Bunker, directed by Florian Zeller
- Clarissa, directed by Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri
- Closure, directed by Michal Marczak
- Club Kid, directed by Jordan Firstman
- Coward, directed by Lukas Dhont
- The Debut, directed by Jesse Eisenberg
- The Diary of a Chambermaid, directed by Radu Jude
- The Dreamed Adventure, directed by Valeska Grisebach
- Edward Said: Between Worlds, directed by Maiken Baird
- Elsinore, directed by Simon Stone
- Everything Else Is Noise, directed by Nicolás Pereda
- Everytime, directed by Sandra Wollner
- Fatherland, directed by Paweł Pawlikowski
- Fjord, directed by Cristian Mungiu
- Gentle Monster, directed by Marie Kreutzer
- The Good Life, directed by Mark Mannucci
- La Gradiva, directed by Marine Atlan
- The Great Experiment, directed by Stephen Maing and Eric Daniel Metzgar
- I Play Rocky, directed by Peter Farrelly
- In Waves, directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen
- Ink, directed by Danny Boyle
- Iron Boy, directed by Louis Clichy
- Jackrabbit, directed by Jared Hogan
- Jean-Michel Basquiat, directed by Quinn Whitney Wilson and Viridiana Lieberman
- Josephine, directed by Beth de Araújo
- Kill. Bury. Print., directed by Ben Klein
- The Last Critic, directed by Matty Wishnow
- The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd, directed by Tim Blake Nelson
- Look Back, directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda
- The Lorraine, directed by Sam Pollard
- Mallory’s Ghost, directed by Arabella Oz and Nick Canellakis
- Minotaur, directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev
- Mouse, directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson
- Mudville, directed by Adam Pinney
- Musk, directed by Alex Gibney
- My NDA, directed by Miriam Shor and Juliane Dressner
- Noga, directed by Jono Bergmann and Benji Bergmann
- Nuisance Bear, directed by Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman
- Once Upon a Time in Harlem, directed by William Greaves and David Greaves
- One in a Million, directed by Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes
- The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, directed by Noah Segan
- Paper Tiger, directed by James Gray
- Possible Love, directed by Lee Chang-dong
- Ray Gunn, directed by Brad Bird
- Re/Pair, directed by Lacey Schwartz Delgado
- The Red Hangar, directed by Juan Pablo Sallato
- Rehearsals for a Revolution, directed by Pegah Ahangarani
- Rose, directed by Markus Schleinzer
- Sapiro v Ford: The Jew Who Sued Henry Ford, directed by Gaylen Ross
- The Search, directed by Fred Zinnemann
- Soul Patrol, directed by J.M. Harper
- A Talent for Murder, directed by Anton Corbijn
- Tangles, directed by Leah Nelson
- Tender Loving Care, directed by Mike Leigh
- TheyDream, directed by William D. Caballero
- threeASFOUR: Full Circle, directed by Sean Ono Lennon, co-directed by Brian Gonzalez
- Time Warp, directed by Allison Berg
- We Are the Shaggs, directed by Ken Kwapis
- When a Witness Recants, directed by Dawn Porter
- The Whole World Is a Lie, directed by Charlie Birns
- Wild Horse Nine, directed by Martin McDonagh
All 73 short films
- About That Picasso…, directed by John Block
- Albatross, directed by Amandine Thomas
- The Baddest Speechwriter of All, directed by Ben Proudfoot and Stephen Curry
- Beast of the Seine, directed by Jon Portman
- Before Dawn, directed by Julia Galeta
- Book U Can Ask ???s, directed by Casimir Nozkowski
- Buckets, directed by Drew van Steenbergen
- Buckskin, directed by Mars Verrone
- Callback, directed by Matthew Puccini
- Charlie and the Rocket Man, directed by Lori Grinker
- Chikaboom!, directed by c. Craig Patterson
- Church Hat, directed by Miceál Og O’Donnell
- Copy, Save, directed by Alyssa Loh
- The Corner, directed by John Ridley and Jeanmarie Condon
- Crisis Actor, directed by Lily Platt
- A Derailment, directed by Nathan Truesdell
- Division, directed by James Paul Dallas
- Dr. Fried and the Peptides, directed by David Beckman-Gaynes
- Escalation, directed by AJ Schnack
- Evergreen, directed by Luke McCormick Gardiner
- A Flash and How It Lasts, directed by Zhihao Hu
- Free Joan Little, directed by Yoruba Richen
- Getar Hero, directed by Teddy Stern
- Halcyon Days, directed by Grace Hanna
- High Voltage, directed by Hannah Whisenant
- Homebodies, directed by Rachel Olson
- Homebody, directed by Shruti Parekh
- The Hotline, directed by Ricki Stern and Jesse Sweet
- I Saw You in the Flood, directed by Kevin Xian Ming Yu
- In Lieu of Flowers, directed by Stacey Torkelson
- In My Blood, directed by Alex Bendo
- In the Trench, directed by Morgan Miller
- Jason, directed by Gabriella Canal
- Jimmy’s Corner: One More Round, directed by Olivier Bernier
- Like Father, directed by Jared Callahan
- Like Little Earthquakes, directed by Matteo Moretti and Freddie Gluck
- Matched, directed by Elvira Ibragimova
- Matches, directed by Jake Delaney
- Maurice and Marvin, directed by David Friend
- The Monks Who Know Ball, directed by Nathaniel Swyer
- The Moon and the Star, directed by Jonah Shallman
- Mr Jesus, directed by Emily Best
- A New Inferno, directed by Nita Blum-Reddick and Jonathan Pickett
- Not Valid for Travel, directed by Jiaying Lin
- One Last Order, directed by Lauren DeFilippo and Sam Soko
- Oracle of Delphi, Ohio, directed by Carter Stewart
- Petticoats, directed by Gaëlle Graton
- Pismo Beach, directed by Christian Tucci
- Proposal, directed by Nikhil Venkatesa
- The Quiet Between, directed by Sam Evoy
- Romantaswipe, directed by Rose Hannah Frankel
- Room for Error, directed by E.J. McLeavey-Fisher
- Room of the Absolute, directed by Natalie Shirinian and Elizabeth Baudouin
- Scenes from the Divide, directed by Alison Klayman
- Scout’s Honor, directed by Isabel Pask
- Scratch, directed by Aliya Kamalova
- A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil, directed by Daniel Straub
- Slick, directed by Jenna Rossman
- St. Joseph, directed by Maky Rupert
- Sunspark, directed by Danny Bourque
- Sweet Boy, directed by John Kim
- Tampons & Taxes: Or How to Play the Ole Boys Club and Win, directed by Emily Harrold
- Testing Testing Sandi Bachom, directed by David France and Paul McGuire
- Today & Tmrw, directed by Mariales Diaz Batista
- Too Romantic, directed by Talia Light Rake
- An Unknown Substance, directed by Steven Leckart
- Us Being Epic, directed by Jeannette Louie
- Verse, directed by Noam Argov
- The Waddles, directed by Max Jenkins
- Water Cooler, directed by Emma V.F.
- We Were Here, directed by Pranav Bhasin
- Welcome to Snugville, directed by Caroline Dean
- Wild East, directed by Maia Wikler
Montclair Film Festival 2026: Frequently Asked Questions
When is the 2026 Montclair Film Festival?
The 15th Montclair Film Festival runs from Friday, October 16, through Sunday, October 25, 2026, in Montclair, New Jersey.
What is the opening night film?
Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine,” starring John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi, opens the festival on October 16 at 7 p.m. at The Wellmont Theater.
What is the closing night film?
Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!,” starring Pedro Pascal, closes the festival on October 25 at 5 p.m. at MKA Upper School, followed by a conversation with Gilroy moderated by Stephen Colbert.
When do tickets go on sale?
Montclair Film members can buy tickets starting Monday, September 28, at 10 a.m. General public sales begin Thursday, October 1, at 10 a.m., at festival.montclairfilm.org.
Which celebrities are coming to the 2026 Montclair Film Festival?
Announced guests include Stephen Colbert, Jesse Eisenberg, Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti, Ava DuVernay, Tony Gilroy, Rachel Maddow, John Turturro, Jack O’Connell, Edward Burns, Susie Essman, Tim Blake Nelson, Stephan James and Karina Longworth.
Where are Montclair Film Festival screenings held?
Screenings and events take place at The Wellmont Theater, The Clairidge, The Bellevue Theatre, Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School, the Audible Lounge at Montclair Mezzanine and Cinema505.
Are there free events at the festival?
Yes. Meet Us on Church Street on Saturday, October 24, offers free, family-friendly live events and activities downtown.
More Montclair Pod Coverage
We’ll have more festival coverage as October gets closer. In the meantime, revisit our onstage conversation at last year’s festival about the Montclair-made documentary “BRENDA”, or see where the film festival fits in our guide to Montclair’s annual festivals.
Image credit: Montclair Film Festival
