AFI FEST 2026 presented by Canva—the American Film Institute’s 40th edition—runs Wednesday 21 October through Sunday 25 October 2026 at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. The complete lineup, announced 29 September, spans 157 films from 50 countries, including 10 Best International Feature Oscar submissions. This ADVANCE Film guide locks dates, ticket timing, and red-carpet anchors before the mid-October spike—without twinning BFI London, VIFF Vancouver, Busan, UBIFF, or World Soundtrack Awards hubs.
Dates, venue, and headline facts
Festival — AFI FEST 2026 presented by Canva
Edition — 40th
Dates — 21–25 October 2026
Venue — TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood
Scale — 157 films / 50 countries
Passes — Available now at FEST.AFI.com
Individual tickets — On sale 3 October 2026
Director of AFI FEST Todd Hitchcock and programming director Abbie Algar frame the slate as awards contenders plus discoveries across red-carpet premieres, luminaries, world cinema, documentary, after dark, and shorts.
Opening, closing, and red-carpet premieres
The festival opens with the U.S. premiere of LAIKA’s WILDWOOD and closes with Siân Heder’s BEING HEUMANN. Additional red-carpet premieres include the world premiere of Peter Berg’s THE MOSQUITO BOWL, Peter Farrelly’s I PLAY ROCKY, and Brad Bird’s animated RAY GUNN (voices include Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Waits).
Special screenings and luminaries highlight new work from Lee Chang-dong (Possible Love), Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (All of a Sudden), Asghar Farhadi (Parallel Tales), Werner Herzog (Bucking Fastard), Céline Sciamma (Tutti Frutti), Mike Leigh (Tender Loving Care), and many others. Guest Artistic Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller present classics including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Harold and Maude, The Muppet Movie, and Rififi.
People also ask: which pass should I buy?
AFI lists Star, Patron, and new Marquee passes. Star covers most screenings excluding red-carpet premieres; Patron adds red-carpet access and priority selection. Confirm current benefits and pricing on FEST.AFI.com before purchase—rush and lounge rules can change by edition.
Why ADVANCE now (spike ~21 October)
“AFI FEST 2026,” “AFI FEST lineup,” and “AFI FEST tickets” queries climb from the 3 Oct individual-ticket on-sale through opening night. A sourced dates–venue–premiere explainer outranks thin Hollywood calendar posts that omit Canva presenting-sponsor context and Oscar-submission count.
Related Sunday Profile Film releases
Deepen the cluster with our live UBIFF 2026 and BFI London Film Festival 2026—October festival pieces without twinning this AFI FEST primary keyword.
How the 2026 slate is organized
Beyond red-carpet premieres, AFI FEST groups titles into Special Screenings, Luminaries, Discovery, World Cinema, Documentary, After Dark, Guest Artistic Director picks, a Short Film Competition, and the AFI Conservatory Showcase. AFI states that 45% of official selections are directed by women and 32% by BIPOC filmmakers. The festival remains an Academy-qualifying event for short-film Oscar categories and a BAFTA/BIFA short-film qualifier.
International Feature submissions screening in the lineup (as listed in the 29 Sept release) include titles from Thailand, Japan, Palestine, Nepal, Germany, Chile, Canada, South Korea, Austria, and Singapore—useful for awards-season trackers who use AFI FEST as a Los Angeles catching-up window.
Passes versus single tickets
Passes are already on sale; individual tickets open 3 October. If you only want one or two red-carpet titles, wait for singles unless you need Patron-level premiere access. Rush policies and Festival Lounge perks differ by pass tier—read the current FEST.AFI.com comparison table before checkout.
Sources and caveats
21–25 Oct TCL Chinese run, 157/50 stats, Wildwood / Being Heumann bookends, red-carpet titles, Lord & Miller guest program, passes now / tickets 3 Oct: American Film Institute press release (29 September 2026) and fest.afi.com. Screening times and rush policies update closer to the week—recheck AFI before travel.