After showcasing work from the likes of Chantal Akerman, Pedro Almodóvar, Bi Gan, Bong Joon Ho, Charles Burnett, Terence Davies, Guillermo del Toro, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jia Zhangke, Spike Lee, Lee Chang-dong, Richard Linklater, Julia Loktev, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Christopher Nolan, Kelly Reichardt, RaMell Ross, Céline Sciamma, Albert Serra, Jane Schoenbrun, Steven Spielberg, Joachim Trier, Tsai Ming-liang, Wong Kar Wai, and many others, New Directors/New Films will return this spring for its 55th edition at Film at Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art.
Taking place from April 8 through 19, this year’s lineup of 24 features and 10 shorts has now been unveiled, including festival favorites Two Seasons, Two Strangers, Chronovisor, Brand New Landscape, Maddie’s Secret, Strange River, Leviticus, Erupcja, If on a Winter’s Night, and more.
“We are thrilled to spotlight two distinctive new directors whose compelling works bookend this year’s festival. In Leviticus, Adrian Chiarella harnesses horror’s visceral power to confront homophobia with intelligence and imaginative flair, transforming a story of young love under siege into a gripping, urgent debut,” said La Frances Hui, Curator, Department of Film, MoMA, and 2026 ND/NF Co-chair. “In bold counterpoint, Rosanne Pel’s Donkey Days is a darkly comic exploration of family dynamics, ingeniously blending Dogme-inspired naturalism with flashes of surrealism to create a work that is at once caustic and unexpectedly tender. Startlingly different in tone yet united in emotional candor and fearlessness, these two films exemplify the diverse, unflinching, and defiant spirit of this year’s lineup.”
Dan Sullivan, Programmer, Film at Lincoln Center, and 2026 ND/NF Co-Chair, added, “The lineup for this year’s edition of New Directors/New Films is replete with artists who—to paraphrase Jean-Luc Godard—aren’t afraid to make political films nor to make films politically. Their curiosity and courage offer us something like a guiding light in our present darkness. Cinema has borne witness to most of recent history’s worst moments, and there’s something—maybe not comfort, but something like it—in knowing that the filmmakers of today and tomorrow won’t shy away from this immense responsibility.”
We’re also delighted to exclusively announce that Tenzin Phuntsog’s ND/NF selection Next Life, which tells the story of a Tibetan family seeking moments of “temporary happiness” while living in exile in suburban America, has been acquired by the newly-launched distributor Lunette for a U.S. theatrical release later this year.
Explore the lineup below, including links to reviews where available, and stay tuned for more coverage.
Agon dir. Giulio Bertelli
Aro Berria dir. Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe
Brand New Landscape dir. Yuiga Danzuka
Chronovisor dirs. Kevin Walker, Jack Auen
Cold Metal dir. Clemente Castor
Do You Love Me dir. Lana Daher
Donkey Days dir. Rosanne Pel
Erupcja dir. Pete Ohs
Fantasy dir. Isabel Pagliai
Forest High dir. Manon Coubia
If on a Winter’s Night dir. Sanju Surendran
Kika dir. Alexe Poukine
Leviticus dir. Adrian Chiarella
Maddie’s Secret dir. John Early
Memory dir. Vladlena Sandu
Next Life dir. Tenzin Phuntsog
Panda dir. Xinyang Zang
The Prophet dir. Ique Langa
The River Train dirs. Lorenzo Ferro, Lucas A. Vignale
Strange River dir. Jaume Claret Muxart
Trial of Hein dir. Kai Stänicke
Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest dir. Viv Li
Two Seasons, Two Strangers dir. Sho Miyake
Variations on a Theme dirs. Jason Jacobs, Devon Delmar
Shorts
Bleat! dir. Ananth Subramaniam
Buckskin dir. Mars Verrone
Division dir. Paul Dallas
The Following Day dir. Conor Fay
Marseille, 14th July dir. El Mahdi L. Youbi
Only Angels dir. Clément Pinteaux
Sabura dir. Falcão Nhaga
Taxi Moto dir. Gaël Kamilindi
Time to Go dir. Renzo Cozza
Unleaded 95 dirs. Emma Hütt, Tina Muffler
Learn more at newdirectors.org.