The Los Angeles Film Festival is reeling in a full program for its 2026 edition.
The new festival, co-founded by Micah Gottlieb and Sarah Winshall in 2024, is scheduled to take place April 9-12. It will open with John Early’s directorial debut, Material secretand closed with Sophie Rumvari Blue heron. Co-presented by Kino Film Collection and Mezzanine, LAFM will debut a program of more than 25 films, including two world premieres, three U.S. premieres, six West Coast premieres, as well as featured artist talks that are still being finalized.
Magnolia pictures Material secretwhich opens at Vidiots’ Eagle Theater on April 9, starring Early opposite Kate Berlant, Vanessa Bayer and Conner O’Malley. Early, who wrote and directed, also stars as the main character, Maddie Ralph, a nutrition influencer who is secretly struggling with a resurgent teen eating disorder. LAFM’s screening follows its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Janus films Blue heron The festival will conclude at Vidiots’ Eagle Theater on April 12. Romvari, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, where it received the Swatch First Feature Film Award and the Junior Jury Prize, follows a Hungarian family as they immigrate to Vancouver Island in the late 1990s. The trip is complicated by the erratic behavior of their teenage son.
LAFM’s 2026 lineup also includes official selections such as those of Christine Haroutunian After the dream Co-presented by the Armenian Film Society, Jack Owen and Kevin Walker ChronovisorAvalon Fast and Gillian Frank Drinking and drivingTucker Bennett In the glow of darknessFrederick Das Isaiah phoneAnouk Moyaux seligna sol, And Kamal Al-Jaafari With Hassan in Gaza. Restoration offerings include one by Arin Burch Dreams of passionLeno Brocka’s poignant gay drama Muscular dancer And Mary Stephen Silk shades. More about the lineup, including short film selections and the full schedule to date, can be found here.
“We are thrilled to return with an exciting new lineup that embodies the pinnacle of independent filmmaking,” said Winshall. “This year we are particularly pleased to include John Early’s unique and strangely poignant satire, Material secretand concluding with Sophie Rumvari’s unexpected elliptical portrait, Blue heronBoth films are very original and are best seen on a big screen with a large audience.
“Serving a thriving community of young and diverse film fans is what the festival is all about,” Gottlieb added. “We also continue to introduce audiences to restored artistic gems, including Lino Brocka’s long-out-of-print classic Macho dancer, while also screening more new feature and short films by local Los Angeles filmmakers, offering an intimate and fascinating portrait of life in the city.
LAFM has tied up with Vidiots in Eagle Rock, the multidisciplinary space 2220 Arts + Archives in the Historic Philippine District and independent theater Now Instant Image Hall in Chinatown as performance venues. The LAFM Talks will be held at the Society for Philosophical Research in Los Feliz. LAFM passes are on sale now and individual tickets are scheduled to go on sale the week of March 23.
