The Montclair Film Festival has unveiled the complete lineup for its 2026 edition, bringing a slate of international premieres, awards season contenders, documentaries and independent films to New Jersey. Among the highlights are Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s “La Bola Negra,” Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky,” Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut,” Sian Heder’s “Being Heumann,” James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” and Mike Leigh’s “Tender Loving Care.” The festival will also feature appearances from Tim Blake Nelson, Edward Burns, Jesse Eisenberg, Susie Essman, Paul Giamatti, Stephan James, Karina Longworth, Rachel Maddow, Julianne Moore and John Turturro. They join previously announced honorees Beth de Araújo, Stephen Beresford, Ava DuVernay, Tony Gilroy and Jack O’Connell.
The festival will open Oct. 16 with Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine” at the Wellmont Theater, and will close with Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!” on Oct. 25 at MKA Upper School. The centerpiece selections include Ava DuVernay’s documentary “14th,” Simon Stone’s drama “Elsinore” and Brad Bird’s animated feature “Ray Gunn.” Several of the festival’s most prominent events will feature filmmakers and stars in person. Eisenberg will join Paul Giamatti and Julianne Moore for a conversation about “The Debut,” moderated by Stephen Colbert.
Edward Burns will attend a screening of “Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies,” while Nelson will appear for “The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd.” John Turturro will participate in a Q&A following “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” and Susie Essman will attend a screening of “The Good Life.” The festival’s 2026 David Carr Award for Truth in Non-Fiction Filmmaking will go to director Ben Klein and producer Rachel Maddow for “Kill. Print.,” which examines an escalating conflict between a community newspaper and the sheriff of the Oklahoma county it covers. Klein and Maddow will participate in a post-screening Q&A.
The festival will also present juried competitions in documentary, fiction and Future/Now, the latter honoring emerging independent filmmakers with the $5,000 Mark Urman Award. Documentary contenders include “Closure,” “The Great Experiment,” “One in a Million,” “Rehearsals for a Revolution” and “When a Witness Recants.” The fiction competition features “All of a Sudden,” “Fatherland,” “Minotaur,” “Possible Love” and “Rose.” The short-film competitions will include documentary, fiction and New Jersey categories, with selections ranging from Ben Proudfoot and Stephen Curry’s “The Baddest Speechwriter of All” to “Albatross,” “Callback,” “Scratch,” “St. Joseph” and “Us Being Epic.” Other programming includes panels on new pathways into filmmaking, the New Jersey film and television industry, festival programming and the relationship between box office and awards momentum.
Tickets go on sale Sept. 28 at 10 a.m. for Montclair Film members and Oct. 1 at 10 a.m. for the public. The complete lineup of films is below. The festival runs from Oct. 16-25.
Opening Night Film“Wild Horse Nine,” directed by Martin McDonagh Closing Night Film“Behemoth!” directed by Tony Gilroy Documentary Centerpiece“14th,” directed by Ava DuVernay Fiction Centerpiece“Elsinore,” directed by Simon Stone Animation Centerpiece“Ray Gunn,” directed by Brad Bird Filmmaker TributeTony Gilroy, moderated by Stephen Colbert Screenwriter AwardStephen Beresford, “Elsinore” Documentary Filmmaker AwardAva DuVernay, “14th” Breakthrough Director AwardBeth de Araújo, “Josephine” David Carr Award for Truth in FilmmakingBen Klein and Rachel Maddow, “Kill. Print.” “14th,” directed by Ava DuVernay“Act One,” directed by Sophia Takal“Adam’s Apple,” directed by Amy Jenkins“All of a Sudden,” directed by Ryûsuke 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 Sky,” 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“Every time,” directed by Sandra Wollner“Fatherland,” directed by Pawel 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“Ink,” directed by Danny Boyle“In Waves,” directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen“Iron Boy,” directed by Louis Clichy“Jackrabbit,” directed by Ballard C. Boyd“Jean-Michel Basquiat,” directed by Quinn Whitney Wilson and Viridiana Lieberman“Josephine,” directed by Beth de Araújo“Kill.
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